LESLY NASSILA spoke with COLLEEN ANUNU, Senior Advisor for Coffee at Fairtrade International, the non-profit winner of the Specialty Coffee Association’s (SCA’s) 2025 Sustainability Awards. Lesly and Colleen discussed how the organization places farmers at the center of its model—empowering them through decision-making power and control over how Fairtrade premiums are used. While Fairtrade is best known for providing coffee smallholders with an economic safety net, it also supports their transition toward deforestation-free and more sustainable agriculture through an EUDR-focused partnership with Satelligence. Anunu emphasizes that relational value chains and pricing premiums are not mutually exclusive, reminding the coffee industry that both can coexist to build a more equitable and resilient sector.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Lesly Nassila (LN): Could you introduce Fairtrade International's mission and vision?

Colleen Anunu (CA): The mission of Fairtrade is to promote fair conditions for international trade and create a more equitable economic system by connecting small-scale producers and workers with consumers. Fairtrade is a voluntary third-party certification scheme. It's one of the most recognized and trusted sustainability labels, known for advancing economic empowerment and environmental and social sustainability. The coffee sector is built on a legacy of colonialism, and Fairtrade seeks to rebalance that power dynamic through production and trading standards, that give producers a stronger voice and economic safety nets, especially in times of crisis. Fairtrade works with around 600 smallholder coffee producer organizations, representing roughly 750,000 coffee farmers globally.

LN: Thank you so much, Colleen. How do you define sustainability and incorporate it into your work?

CA: I will split my answer into the three classic pillars of sustainability.

From an environmental standpoint, Fairtrade’s production standards promote good agricultural practices—healthy soils, water conservation, and integrated pest management. In 2022, Fairtrade formally adopted a sustainable agriculture policy of agroecology, which aligns with our commitment to producer empowerment and local decision-making. Agroecology’s bottom-up approach allows farmers to define what works in their own contexts and to develop locally adapted, resilient farming systems. Additionally, we are one of the third-party certifications that ties economic incentives to organic production, thus supporting the transition to sustainable agriculture.

From a social perspective, Fairtrade standards require fair labor practices including wages and formal contracts, and participation is limited to smallholder cooperatives under the Fairtrade Coffee Standard. We see smallholder cooperatives as critical to advancing democracy, participation, and negotiating power in the coffee sector.

Economically, Fairtrade ensures stability through its minimum price and premium mandate within the trader standard. When the market is low, the Fairtrade minimum price provides a safety net for over 750,000 producers in the Fairtrade system. Producer organizations receive a base price, which is either the Fairtrade minimum price of US$1.80/lb, or the prevailing market price if that is higher. On top of this base price there is a $0.20/lb Fairtrade premium, which is invested democratically by cooperatives. Certified organic coffee received an additional premium of $0.40/lb on top of the base price.

Another way that we support economic sustainability is through a really rich history of advocacy around living income and sustainable livelihoods. We are now reviewing how these concepts of living income and living income reference prices can better align with our pricing mechanisms.

LN: Many see Fairtrade as socially focused, yet you are also advancing environmental priorities. In the context of new regulations like the EUDR, what challenges do you see for small-scale farmers? Your collaboration with Satelligence is one response—could you briefly describe this partnership?

CA: Even with the proposed one-year delay, we continue supporting producers to prepare for EUDR compliance within their value chains.

One of the main burdens has been the collection of geolocation data. Even though the technology is available, organizing millions of smallholder farmers, especially in a value chain as fragmented as the coffee one, is challenging. The significant cost and administrative burdens that these types of regulations involve add another layer of complexity. Through our partnership with Satelligence, we fund workshops for farmer representatives, cooperative leaders, and technical experts on collecting geolocation data, assessing risks, and creating mitigation plans. We’re trying to lessen the burden of compliance through support and through some centralized approaches to data collection that reduce technical complexity. Deforestation has such strong linkages to poverty that it needs to be a multi-pronged approach toward resolving. We need to go beyond just complying with the law, by actually enabling those who are the most vulnerable in the supply chain to not only comply with the law, but also achieving more dignified incomes through these pricing mechanisms that we have. Within this partnership with Satelligence, what's really important for Fairtrade is that producers own the data; the mapping visualizations and risk reports are shared back with producers. Through the partnership, they’re able to use risk reports in a way that fits their localized approaches to mitigation. This contrasts with many instances of compliance-related data sharing, where producers don’t always get actionable feedback.

LN: Thank you so much, Colleen. My next question is about the voice of farmers in governance. Farmers hold 50% of decision-making power in your General Assembly. What concrete decisions or outcomes illustrate the value of this model?

CA: Producers hold 50% of decision-making power in the General Assembly, ensuring their voices shape key decisions—from budgets to board appointments. Producer representatives also serve on committees alongside technical experts and market actors. Another important way to think through the influence and decision-making power of producers within the system really comes to the Fairtrade premium use. Cooperatives have full agency on how they make use of the premium. We know that the majority of premium funds are spent as second payments to farmers, local infrastructure, capacity building for cooperatives like technical assistance to improve quality and productivity. At a cooperative in Aceh, Indonesia they also invested a small amount of money for a community cardio workout trainings for women coffee producers. It may sound surprising, but it's a core empowerment mechanism for women in that community that don't have spaces to support social connectivity. Premium use is not for anyone else to decide, but those cooperatives, which is a very valuable aspect of this certification.

LN: The coffee sector faces major challenges. What recent practices or shifts make you hopeful?

CA: It’s hard to feel hopeful given current market dynamics. The market remains decoupled from the actual cost of production, even as there’s growing interest across the coffee industry in supporting prices that cover the true cost of sustainable production. Concepts like living income and dignified livelihoods are gaining traction—but where is the broad, consistent investment in coffee pricing to match that rhetoric?

In 2025, we’re seeing record highs for Free on Board prices (the price paid for coffee at the point of export, known as FOB). While they're not farm gate prices (the price paid to a farmer), they do signal that at last we're starting to see the value of the coffee that is being grown. Still, there’s a continuing need for Fairtrade in this high market environment, because these market conditions won’t last forever. I find some hope in the fact that we're finally raising prices at the retail level—margins downstream are tightening, which could indicate a rebalancing of the inequitable distribution of value along the supply chain. However, this shift is being driven primarily by market forces, not by long-term, sustainable mechanisms.

On one hand, I'm hopeful because consumers are starting to pay more and the value of coffee is being reassessed. On the other hand, we don't know yet how the market will respond: will consumers continue to buy, or will demand shrink? I hope organizations like the SCA will conduct long-term studies to address these questions and help relieve the pressure on small roasters. Ultimately, we must recognize that the current high market conditions are not a long-term solution to the industry’s systemic inequalities, its extractive capitalist structures and its colonial roots. The conversation around sustainability needs to be reinvigorated to move forward.

 LN: What does winning a SCA Sustainability Award mean to you, and what message do you hope to share with peers?

CA: Winning the SCA Sustainability Award is an opportunity to remind the industry that the following is not mutually exclusive: you can have relational value chains—built on direct trade, trust, and long-term partnerships between coffee producers and buyers—combined with the benefits of these market interventions, such as pricing premium. I hope this award re-articulates the value of Fairtrade to the specialty coffee market in particular: so much misconception about what Fairtrade is and what it does still remains.

This award is also deeply meaningful to coffee producers who have invested in this model. All in all, my hope is that this award renews attention to Fairtrade’s principles and values as a platform.

LESLY NASSILA is a PhD candidate in the Sustainability Research Group at the University of Basel. She studies how new human rights and environmental due diligence laws affect farmers and other actors in the coffee, cocoa, and palm oil value chains in Côte d’Ivoire.

Data collection might not sound like the most thrilling aspect of running a specialty coffee business. But, businesses that collect data systematically discover insights that can transform and improve how they operate.  

The reality is, whether you're a farm owner tracking harvest yields, a roaster monitoring batch consistency, or a café owner analyzing customer patterns, you're already swimming in data. Every receipt from your point-of-sale system captures purchasing behavior. Each roasting batch generates sensory profiles and technical parameters. Logistics create trails of delivery times, quality scores, and the market value of a lot. The question isn't whether you have data; it's whether you're collecting it strategically. Businesses that collect data systematically discover insights that can transform and improve how they operate. 

The quality vs. systematization balance 

Most coffee professionals are aware that poor-quality data leads to poor-quality insights. Conversely, good results start with good, relevant data that fits actual business needs. It's like cooking: follow a great recipe with mediocre ingredients, and you'll get not-so-wonderful results. Use great ingredients with the same care, and the outcome transforms entirely.  

But here's where it gets interesting: data quality alone isn't enough. What matters more is systematization, which means understanding which data elements are truly essential before you start collecting anything. 

What is the fundamental purpose behind your data collection efforts? Are you gathering information for internal assessment and operational improvements? Is a key partner or buyer requesting specific metrics for certification or relationship requirements? Has a new sustainability regulation or traceability standard created reporting obligations? Or perhaps you're exploring ways to differentiate your product in an increasingly competitive market? 

The answers to these questions shape everything that follows. They help determine not just what data you collect, but how you structure that collection, who needs access to the information, and what systems you'll need to support ongoing management. Identifying your internal requirements allows you to design collection methods that serve both your requirements and those of your external partners, if needed.  

Understanding your "why" also helps you avoid the most common pitfall in coffee industry data collection: many companies collect too much data, hoping more will solve problems, but instead face confusion and neglect without clarity around how to utilize it. 

The frustration cycle (and why it happens) 

As a data strategy expert, who's worked in the space for six years, I've collaborated with coffee businesses throughout the sector. I've noticed a widespread pattern in how businesses approach their data, something that I call "the frustration cycle."  

Companies enter this cycle when their first response to a business challenge is to begin collecting data. For instance, perhaps a customer complained that the last batch of roasted coffee they received was inconsistent with previous batches. A reasonable and common response is, "We need better data on this."  

In problem-solving situations like this, a team often starts collecting data from multiple touchpoints without developing a clear strategy first. Their intention is excellent; they hope to use information to improve operations and avoid future problems. So, they add several parameters to roasting logs and capture additional records from inventory and point-of-sale transactions. After several weeks of data collection, they analyze what they've gathered and realize they can’t draw data from the scattered or insufficient datasets, or they have collected irrelevant data that doesn't answer their original need.  

The natural response is to assume they need more information. So they add more metrics, thinking having more data will solve the problem. Nevertheless, the result is not what they hoped for. The data project gets shelved with promises to "revisit this when we have more time." Six months or a year later, the cycle restarts. 

Breaking the cycle: a strategic approach 

Instead of beginning with data collection, you can break free from this frustration cycle following a fundamentally different path. Start with strategic questions and work backward to identify the minimum viable information needed to answer those questions effectively. 

First, identify the problem you are trying to solve: To do so, ask yourself questions directly related to those issues. These questions will be informed by your unique context and your role in the coffee sector. For example, a roaster might ask: "Which coffee origins perform best with our customer base?" A café owner might wonder: "What factors influence our peak times?" A processor might ask: "Which processing methods are my clients most interested in?" An importer could ask: "What coffee attributes are roasters in our market seeking?"   

Next, deliberately limit the number of data you collect: This feels counterintuitive, since our instinct suggests that more data provides better insights. However, focused datasets reveal patterns more quickly, and anomalies are easier to identify and investigate than when assessing long and multiple spreadsheets. Therefore, limit your data collection to three to five key metrics that directly relate to your primary questions, consciously ignoring everything else during the initial phase. 

Evaluate initial data results and iterate: After collecting focused data for one to two months  (the timeline depends on your business cycle and the nature of the metrics) analyze what you have. Only then, evaluate whether additional indicators would enhance your understanding of the problem. This might mean adding one or two new metrics, or removing ones that proved less useful than expected. 

Good and successful data collection is systematic and iterative. This process might make you feel like data collection setups take longer than what you initially expected. However, to see real returns from this investment, I suggest you spend at least a few months refining your collection approach before expanding your efforts any further. The time invested in this phase builds the full foundation to guide your future operational decisions. 

A structured and iterative approach allows for constant learning: make a plan based on your goals, test it, adapt, and repeat. 

Strategic collection and stakeholder relationships 

This strategic approach to data collection creates an unexpected benefit: it naturally addresses the complex stakeholder and ethical considerations that coffee supply chains present. 

When you collect data systematically rather than broadly, you're more likely to consider fundamental questions upfront. Whose information are you gathering? What constitutes sensitive versus non-sensitive data in your specific context? How does your data collection impact relationships with suppliers, employees, customers, or community members? 

Importers, for example, occupy an interesting position in coffee supply chains, receiving detailed lot information from providers while preparing different data formats for roaster customers. Strategic data collection helps address these challenges because it forces conversations about necessity and mutual benefit. When you can clearly articulate why you need specific information, it becomes easier to explain that purpose to data providers. Similarly, if you limit collection to essential indicators, you reduce the burden on everyone involved in providing information. 

But the relationship dynamics in coffee supply chains are more complex than simple data sharing agreements can address. Power imbalances between different levels of the value chain mean that data requests from larger, downstream companies can feel extractive to smaller, upstream partners, even when the information seems routine. 

Consider whether you can build data systems that deliver insight and create value throughout your sourcing chain. One way to do so is to make it a practice to share actionable results with stakeholders providing data. If you collect processing data from a farm, share feedback on how those methods correlate with prices. This reciprocal approach to data sharing helps address concerns about equitable value distribution across the supply chain. Instead of simply extracting maximum data from partners, systematic collection focuses on information flows that create insights benefiting multiple stakeholders simultaneously. 

Building toward systematic management 

To succeed with data, you don't need to begin with sophisticated analytics platforms or impressive visualization dashboards. Start with intentional, systematic collection that relates to solving important problems and serves clear business purposes. It’s the foundation for everything that follows in your data journey. When you understand exactly why you're gathering specific information and have established consistent collection methods, you're positioned for the next crucial challenge: managing and visualizing the information you've gathered.  

Collecting the right data creates value only if you can organize it, maintain its accuracy, and analyze it efficiently when business decisions need to be made. The habits and systems you establish during collection determine whether data management becomes a strategic asset or an administrative burden. 

Most importantly, strategic collection builds organizational confidence in data-driven decision making. When your team sees clear connections between information gathered and operational improvements achieved, they become more willing to invest time in data quality and more interested in exploring additional applications. 

This feature is the first installment of a two-part series by ELISA CRISCIONE on effective data practices for roast and retail businesses. Stay tuned for the second feature, Data: Management and Visualization for Better Business Decision Making.

Sponsored Content by BWT water+more

BWT water+more impresses with its water expertise at HOST 2025. Back from Milan, BWT water+more can look back upon a successful HOST 2025. As the 2022-2025 Official Water Filtration Sponsor for the World Barista Championship, the company provided perfect water on the world championship stage and captivated visitors to its own booth with an impressive presentation. 

Perfect water at world championship level: at HOST 2025, BWT water+more, the water optimization specialist in the food service industry, supported the World Barista Championship as the 2022-2025 Official Water Filtration Sponsor. For espressos, milk-based beverages, or signature drinks the optimal BWT water for coffee helped the world’s leading baristas to demonstrate their skills under the best possible conditions. Dr. Frank Neuhausen, Managing Director of BWT water+more, says: “the World Barista Championship is a project that is very close to our hearts—it shows how crucial water quality is to the perfect coffee. We are very proud that we were able to support this event in Milan.”  

Award for the World’s Best Baristas 

BWT water+more commends all the finalists of this year’s World Barista Championship for their outstanding performance and heartily congratulates the new World Barista Champion, Jack Simpson from Australia, on his victory. This success that will be rewarded: for many years, BWT has been involved in the construction of wells for a sustainable water supply in Africa. In honour of this event, the company, which is a member of the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA), is donating a total of eight new wells. Six of them will be constructed in the name of the competition finalists and will each bear a plaque with one of their names, as an enduring acknowledgement of their success and as a symbol of clean drinking water and social responsibility. With this initiative, BWT is connecting excellence in coffee-making with a sustainable commitment to a better future. 

Innovations for the Coffee Community 

At HOST, BWT water+more presented its latest water optimization solutions to an international trade audience. BWT bestico impressed visitors as a highly effective filter cartridge that guarantees crystal-clear ice for cocktails or cold brews. The company also presented BWT b.Connect, a digital filter management system that provides greater efficiency, easy maintenance, and complete transparency thanks to practical IoT technology.  

BWT bestbarista ROC COFFEE proved to be a major draw: a compact high-performance reverse osmosis system that removes undesired substances from the water while also remineralizing the water with magnesium and silicate in a targeted manner. In this way, it transforms any local untreated water into a fully standardized quality product that can bring out the aromas of any coffee to optimal effect. 

From left to right: Dr. Frank Neuhausen (left), Managing Director of BWT water+more, congratulates the new World Barista Champion, Jack Simpson, on his victory | HOST highlight: BWT bestbarista ROC COFFEE. A compact high-performance reverse osmosis system with targeted remineralization.  | BWT water+more presented its latest water optimization solutions at HOST in Milan. | All the HOST exhibitors were able to draw BWT-optimized water from the practical filling station at BWT water+more’s booth.  | Photo credit: BWT water+more 

Coffee Expertise from a Pro  

As Head of Coffee at BWT water+more, Katharina Ante accompanied the company throughout its participation in the exhibition and ensured that there was a varied programme at the booth. During the popular cupping sessions, visitors were able to see for themselves how different coffee tastes when optimized water is used. “I am always inspired by the trade audience’s level of curiosity and openness with regard to the topic of water. At this exhibition, we were able to demonstrate how great the influence of water really is on the coffee profile,” explains Ante.  

Successful Appearance in Milan 

At HOST 2025, BWT water+more was able not only to establish new contacts, but also to emphasize its role as a driving force for water quality in the preparation of coffee. “The feedback clearly shows that water is a key factor in the enjoyment of coffee—from a little coffee bar to the World Championship. The fact that we are able to offer practical solutions for this confirms that we are on the right track,” says Dr. Frank Neuhausen. 

About BWT water+more.

BWT water+more Deutschland GmbH, based in Wiesbaden, is a specialist in water optimization technologies for the hospitality trade, the hotel trade and vending. Founded in 2005, the company, which is a 100% subsidiary of BWT Holding GmbH from Austria, offers the largest product portfolio worldwide for professionally optimizing water for coffee specialties, hot and cold drinks, and baking, steaming and dishwashing technology. In addition to Germany and Austria, BWT water+more is represented throughout Europe with branches in Belgium, Denmark, France, Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland.

Dear members of the Specialty Coffee Association around the globe, 

As presented to SCA members on August 28, the SCA Board of Directors, led by President Garfield Kerr, nominated a group of seven professionals from a pool of dozens who responded to our annual call for nominations made in June. As the number of candidates this year is equal to the number of open seats, there is no need to proceed with a voting process, and the SCA Board has confirmed the three professionals listed below as members of the SCA Board of Directors, in accordance with Section 7.4(f) of the SCA Bylaws.

• Emi-Beth Aku Quantson, CEO and Chief Caffeination Officer at Kawa Moka Coffee Company 

• Rob Stephen, Managing Director of Covoya Specialty Coffee 

• Daryanto Witarsa, Co-Founder of Common Grounds Coffee and Catur Coffee Company 

Were there any petition candidates on the ballot this year?

As outlined in the SCA Bylaws, anyone not selected for the slate had the opportunity to seek 100 member signatures during the month of September and petition to be added to the ballot.

What happens next in the 2025 election?

The next step in the board election is usually for SCA members to take part in a voting process, which would usually open on November 1. However, given that the number of candidates this year is equal to the number of open seats, the SCA Board will move forward in confirming the eight professionals listed above as members of the SCA Board of Directors, in accordance with Section 7.4(f) of the SCA Bylaws:

“If after the close of the nominating period on September 30 the number of people nominated for the Board is not more than the number of directors to be elected, the Corporation may without further action declare that those nominated and qualified to be elected have been elected, in which case there shall be no election.”

Who are the board members whose terms are ending this year?

We send a warm thank you to the six dedicated members of the board whose terms end on December 31, 2025. These coffee professionals have provided invaluable leadership to the association and have dedicated countless volunteer hours to make the work of the SCA a success:

• Garfield Kerr, CEO of Mokha 1450

• Jeanine Niyozima-Aroian, Owner and Manager of JNP Coffee

• Giovanni Fucili, General Manager of Groupe SEB

New roles on the SCA Board of Directors in 2026

As we close the 2025 election cycle, we also see a few additional changes to its composition. Per the association’s bylaws, the following members of the board will take on new roles on January 1st, 2026:

• Andrew Tolley, Director of Tolley Coffee & Tea will become President

• Nadine Rasch, Founder and Director of Primavera will become Vice President 

• Jiyoon Han, Co-Owner of Bean & Bean Coffee will become Second Vice President

Thank You

Finally, I want to say thank you to all SCA members who engage in this important process every year. Thank you for supporting the mission of the SCA. I encourage you to visit our SCA Elections page to learn more about the elections process, to find all announcements published in this election cycle, and for answers to frequently asked questions. If you have any questions or comments, please contact us via email at elections@sca.coffee.

Thank you, 

Yannis Apostolopoulos

Chief Executive Officer

Specialty Coffee Association

Visit our SCA Elections page to learn more about the elections process and answers to other frequently asked questions.

Can't find what you're looking for? Contact us via email at elections@sca.coffee.

Editor LAUREL CARMICHAEL, introduces 25, Issue 24.

The coffee sector is in constant flux. Increasingly our definitions of consumer, creator, and producer are blurring, and even our understanding of coffee itself is being redefined.

Rather than searching for a paradigmatic change or heralding a “new wave,” the authors in this issue of 25 explore fluid and shifting identities in coffee, inviting us to perceive, understand, and thoughtfully respond to the transformations happening around us.

Beginning in Business, Kosta Kallivrousis investigates how digital natives are redefining their identity as coffee consumers—moving beyond passive purchasers to become active co-creators with their favorite coffee brands. Brand loyalty, he argues, emerges when businesses recognize and embrace consumers’ desire to become creative partners, and build both products (such as drink recipes or retail packaging) or experiences (including collaborative events) together.

In Insight, Anna Luiza Santana Neves shares results from a study on coffee and food pairing preferences in Brazil. Moving beyond coffee and cake to discuss pão de queijo (cheese bread) and tapioca, their study shows how these pairings reflect sentimental habits, cultural identities, and regional traditions, rather than just sensory compatibility.

Two authors further explore specialty coffee consumption in countries conventionally perceived as “coffee producing.” In Insight, Jordan Buchanan shares testimony from pioneering specialty café owners in Puebla state, Mexico, exploring their journeys into coffee and tracing their motivations and challenges as they grew the local scene. Also in Insight, Daniel Muraga explores a burgeoning café culture in Nairobi, Kenya. As urbanization literally blurs the boundaries between coffee production and consumption areas around Nairobi, Muraga describes how coffee competitions, consumer and professional education, and coffee tourism are increasing the perceived value of Kenyan coffee at home.

This issue encourages us to challenge binary definitions of “consuming” and “producing” countries and to reflect on the language we use to describe the interconnected coffee system. In Viewpoint, Alexa Romano and Vera Espíndola Rafael share their reflections on two dialogues on equitable value distribution in coffee, held in Mexico in 2024. They remind us to interrogate the cultural and linguistic norms of discussion and move toward intentional dialogues that disrupt power imbalances and truly center women coffee producers’ voices.

Finally, two SCA staff-written features examine how we define, assess, and describe coffee itself. In Research, we report on a Coffee Science Foundation research project to establish sensory thresholds of common green coffee defects. The aim is to ensure that the logic behind green grading systems is grounded in rigorous science and reflects what we can smell and taste, not just see. In the Program Spotlight, we share learnings from the 2025 Re:co Spotlight event, which sought to build a foundational common language to help the sector navigate the controversial debate on adding “stuff”— from flavoring additives to microbial starters—to coffee.

 This issue reminds us that how we understand the coffee system and our place in it is always shifting, whether through gradual changes or dramatic transformations. As active participants in coffee’s evolution, we have opportunities to determine what comes next. What assumptions about consumer, producer, and coffee identities must we question? And, how can we celebrate the diversity of roles and perspectives while building toward a common language? ◊

LAUREL CARMICHAEL (they/them)

Editor, 25

We hope you are as excited as we are about the release of 25, Issue 24. This issue of 25 is made possible with the contributions of specialty coffee businesses who support the activities of the Specialty Coffee Association through its underwriting and sponsorship programs. Learn more about our underwriters here.

JENN RUGOLO, Specialty Coffee Association Innovation Officer, shares early insights from a project exploring the possibility of building a common language around green coffee identity.

In coffee, discussions of identity have often centered on questions of “purity.”

The first wave questioned coffee substitutes like roasted chicory, roasted barley, and roasted chickpeas; the second, the large—but brief—boom in flavored coffee; and the third, everything from species and processing methods to the intention and style of beverages and their service.[1] As the opportunities and capacity for distinctive and differentiated coffees have grown, so, too, have the number of methods and approaches to processing coffee.

Questions about coffee purity relate to cultural trends, but also to “identity standards”—the official rules about the composition, nature, and essential characteristics of a food product for it to be sold and marketed under a certain name. These standards, set by various regulatory bodies, help ensure consumers know what they’re buying and help facilitate trade between countries.

As coffee production has become more innovative, however, these legal definitions have become the center of heated ethical discussions about what constitutes “coffee” and who gets to decide. We—staff at the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA)—have been tracking and talking about the “processing revolution” since at least 2020, when the SCA’s Technical Officer, Dr. Mario Fernández-Alduenda, introduced the idea of all the different ways in which a variety of ingredients— from microbial starters and fermentation adjuncts all the way to flavoring agents—could be used to modulate the flavor of coffee during processing. The diversity of these potential ingredients is so broad that Dr. Fernández-Alduenda referred to it under the catch-all term of “added stuff.”

“Pro-stuff innovators” argued that the idea of “100% pure” coffee is a myth: some amount of foreign substance always enters the beans during processing. They also vouched for the producers’ freedom to innovate, seek differentiation, and add value to their product, citing the craft beer industry in many countries as a model. The “anti-stuff purists,” on the other hand, made strong arguments regarding transparency and fair play. They contended that consumers should have the right to know when anything other than coffee has been added, especially in light of allergen and other medical risks. A specific concern also emerged in the case of green coffee competitions: how fair is the addition of any stuff—but especially stuff that influences flavor—in competitions inherently focused on green coffee quality?

Earlier this year, just before Specialty Coffee Expo in Houston, Texas, we brought together industry representatives to learn about and discuss this issue, with the hope of reaching a shared understanding of what those impacted think should happen. We hoped to answer the following key questions: 

1. Is this industry discussion really just about “stuff” and “no stuff,” or is it a proxy for more complicated questions of equity, access, or expectations of transparency?

2. Would a shared understanding of the topic’s complexities change the group’s perceptions? Would a common language naturally emerge if everyone had the same information?

3. What should the role of the SCA be in this situation? What actions could we take that are helpful? Which should we avoid?

Inspired by the structure of a citizens’ assembly—where a sample of the population is presented with information from subject-matter experts and interested individuals about a complex topic to generate a series of recommendations for a path forward—we wanted this event to serve those who are most likely to be directly impacted by any identity standard. Participants included coffee producer or processor institutional representatives, who are often asked questions about this topic; current practicing coffee processors, looking to gain more information about how markets understand and view infused coffees; and subject-matter experts, including academics and communicators who regularly engage with this topic. We also reserved a small number of seats for applicants who could demonstrate a clear connection between this topic and their work, experience, or perspective.

As we worked through a series of categorization activities and small-group exercises, many additional complexities emerged. During the process, we began to better understand why, even when a group has the same information about the topic, there is still tension around what language to use, and when. First, there are several different ways to categorize coffee along a “no-stuff” to “stuff” spectrum, and very few offer clear dividing lines. Some distinguish based on the nature of the additive, especially whether they consider it “natural” or “synthetic.” Some focus not only on “what,” but also on “why” something is added, for example, asking whether the ingredient supports or modulates the fermentation environment, or whether it’s added specifically to impart flavor. Others focus on timing, looking at when something was added—during the first stage of post-harvest processing, or later after the coffee was dried—to help determine whether they considered it a processing aid or flavoring agent. The question of creative intent behind an additive’s use (i.e., an idea of “craft”) also emerged.

Another key point of tension in what language to use, and when, relates to the purpose of a common language in the first place: if our goal is to alleviate confusion within the value system for the purpose of trade, which actors would benefit the most from increased clarity on this topic? Trade language is often dry and technical, but it presents challenges when considering the increasing importance of processing information as an extrinsic attribute driving value in coffee. One clear example that came up in discussion was that of “honey” processes, or in more technical language, “demucilaged” coffees. While there may be value in demystifying processing for consumers, it comes with significantly more risk for producers and sellers of green coffee. Would consumers presented with a coffee accurately described as “demucilaged” find it as attractive as a “honey-processed” coffee?  A market assessment of co-fermented and infused coffees in Colombia that we shared with participants stated that there is an opportunity for sellers of co-fermented and infused coffees in different markets from those that have traditionally sought Colombian coffees. Will coffee sellers risk losing market opportunities if they feel pressured to explain to buyers—in technical language—the additives that they may have used?

At the time of writing (July 2025), we are still sifting through all the information we gathered in our short time with the group. In the coming months, we look forward to releasing more about the different areas we examined with the help of subject-matter experts, like the market assessment, as well as the outcomes of the categorization exercises and small-group activities, including the recommendations we received. In the meantime, I hope this small glimpse into this debate—whether you’ve been deep in the weeds since the very beginning or are just joining it now—helps to illuminate why it’s been such a difficult one to resolve. ◊

JENN RUGOLO is the Specialty Coffee Association Innovation Officer. Re:co Spotlight was made possible with the support of STORM Barista Attitude.

References

[1] Dr. Mario Fernández-Alduenda, “Understanding Shifting Coffee Identity Standards,” SCA News (July 26, 2020), https://sca.coffee/sca-news/read/understanding-shifting-coffee-identity-standards.

We hope you are as excited as we are about the release of 25, Issue 24. This issue of 25 is made possible with the contributions of specialty coffee businesses who support the activities of the Specialty Coffee Association through its underwriting and sponsorship programs. Learn more about our underwriters here.

Green coffee sales representative and author KOSTA KALLIVROUSIS offers insights and new marketing strategies that engage “digital natives,” the postmillennial generation that is evolving the relationship between brands and consumers.

Introduction by ALVIN KIM (he/him) SCA Roast and Retail Portfolio Manager

How do you sell a physical product to a digital generation? For a coffee company tethered to a physical space, imagining a digital future might feel daunting. But adaptation might be the key to success for coffee companies, because for the first time in history, postmillennial “digital natives” are set to become the generation with the greatest buying power, a generation that has only known a world with the internet.

 Specialty coffee brands have long held to the adage “build it and they will come,” but that model of old is not enough to stay ahead in today’s interconnected business environment. In other words, it’s simply not enough to have the “best quality coffee” or the best hospitality. Those things are the new standard at a time when products from around the world are at our fingertips. Instead, Kosta Kallivrousis weaves together examples of brands co-creating products and experiences with their audiences that result in greater loyalty and deeper connection. You could say, this is a new paradigm of “build it together and they will commune.”

 For many brand owners, it might sound like relinquishing control of the brand’s identity or values to strangers. But as you’ll read, the opposite is true; to share your brand you need to know it deeply. To illustrate that, Kallivrousis shares examples of how coffee brands are finding new ways to engage, like community-created seasonal drinks or hosting run clubs. Some, like Chamberlain Coffee, are vetting products through their online communities and adapting them based on feedback.

Great marketers know that the best products solve real problems, ones that customers truly care about.  So, don’t wait until your physical product is built to see if  it succeeds, engage your customers earlier in the process—give them a peek behind the curtain. And if you’re not sure where to start, take stock of your coffee’s attributes using the Coffee Value Assessment (CVA) by recording flavor descriptors, your favorite cup characteristics, and extrinsic attributes such as producer information or certifications. Then, survey your customers or compare those attributes to sales data.

 Relationships are a two-way street; tell your customers about your brand, but spend time understanding who they are. As Kallivrousis will tell you, this type of connection can build loyal customers that take an active role and “are more likely to stay with and promote brands.” Working in dialogue with customers can help you to create a voice as a brand. Audiences will find you, they’ll resonate with you, and they’ll want to join in your success.

I’ve been working in the sector since 2016 and saw an explosion of small- to medium-sized roasters starting or coming into maturity. It seemed like growth would be infinite—that is, until March 2020.

Since the Covid lockdowns, working as a sales representative for green coffee importers,  I have watched clients’ business strategies flip from being café-centric—with a focus on pour-overs and the latest micro lots—to looking at other avenues like blends, grocery stores, instant coffee, and ready to drink (RTD) cold brew.[1] A new environment has been forming over the last five years and we’re at a point of transition in the way that coffee is consumed.

This shift has been hyper-accelerated by a societal migration to the digital sphere, a space fluently navigated by postmillennials, the first generation that has only known a world with the internet. This group, broadly encompassing those born from 1997 to 2012, is made up of true digital natives and is redefining what it means to be a coffee consumer, in both physical and digital spaces. This shift might sound daunting, but the coffee sector has experienced monumental shifts before, and by adopting new marketing approaches there are opportunities for coffee brands to grow alongside their consumers.

Historic Context: How Has Specialty Coffee Traditionally Been Marketed?

Specialty coffee as we know it today emerged in the 1970s and 1980s, even as overall US coffee purchases were declining. This downturn, however, coincided with a crucial shift in how the coffee industry perceived its customers. Through their work with Maxwell House, the US marketing firm Ogilvy and Mather (today known as Ogilvy) helped create the playbook that nearly every coffee company now uses to sell coffee. Kenneth Roman, the Vice President of Ogilvy and Mather at that time, summarized how the then up-and-coming generation of Americans thought of themselves differently and were looking for experiences to match their new realities. Although the sector had previously imagined Americans as a unified mass population of buyers largely fixated on price, the advertising world was beginning to understand consumers as a much more diverse group with different values. Roman told World Coffee and Tea in 1981, “We are entering the ‘me’ generation.” He said that consumers would ask a long list of questions about products, including: “What’s in it for me? Is the product ‘me’? Is it consistent with my lifestyle? Does it fill a need? Do I like how it tastes? What will it cost me?”

In a 1996 article “The Rise of Yuppie Coffees and the Reimagination of Class in the United States,”[2] the anthropologist William Roseberry wrote that Kenneth Roman was inviting coffee brands (whom he terms “coffeemen”) to imagine a market that was segmented in class and generational terms. Across different personas representing different ages, relationships, and spending patterns, he outlined how the values of each group would change, depending on their relationship with coffee in the first place. He was describing the virtues of product diversification, rather than standardization, describing the expansion of specialty coffees as a move away from mass production and consumption. Roseberry wrote of “[new] coffees, more choices, more diversity, less concentration, new capitalism: the beverage of postmodernism.”

Whether you agree with Roseberry’s reading or not, specialty coffee marketing has been dominated by narratives of differentiation and the agency of the individual consumer for decades. Since 1988, coffee consumption—and specialty coffee consumption—has seen a meteoric rise. Yet, more recently, the way that we consume media, marketing, and even coffee has drastically shifted as digital natives become a powerful economic group.

The Digital Migration Century and Digital Natives

In The Politics of Consumer Data, associate professor Robert Cluley explores how technologies from companies can shape human behavior for their benefit. He takes an example of shopping carts, which move “the pusher to become a shopper” by creating a volumetric amount of space for shopping, influencing the way customers can maneuver around a shop. In the digital age, screens are having a similar impact on the way we shop, and on the way we consume food and drink. With companies designing screens to maximize our time and attention for their platforms, it is worth looking at how it impacts modern social activities, like eating out or hanging out with friends. Thompson notes: “Only 26% of restaurant traffic are dining in compared to 39% before Covid.”[3]

This pervasive digital environment has led to a fundamental shift in how this generation engages with the world. As Marc Prensky, who coined the term, observed, “digital natives know only the digital culture.”[4] Digital natives move seamlessly from online to offline spaces, exhibiting a higher level of reliance on (and trust in) social media influencers. Today, over 54 percent of “Generation Z” (i.e., those born roughly between 1997 and 2012) report aspirations to become influencers—and universities are following suit, teaching courses and creating clubs to help students learn how.[5]

Digital natives are combining online and offline spaces to escape the confinement of physical space. The DJ Fred Again is an example of a “creator” that is using platforms like Twitch and Discord to untether from the club to produce music in real time with his streaming audience. This new hybrid environment reveals a new way that consumers are engaging: co-creation. Recently, a streamer gave Fred a 10-minute challenge to create a track based on a sample provided by someone watching. While these creative outlets may appear less physically social, they are based around online interaction, rather than simply “viewing,” blurring the line between performer and audience and the producer and the consumer.

These types of interactions give rise to the “prosumer,” a term, discussed in an earlier feature by Alexa Romano,[6] which describes individuals who actively blur the line between producers and consumers by engaging in value-creation activities. This includes contributing new product ideas, creating opportunities for consumers to truly engage, or helping to craft a brand’s identity. For brands, this evolving landscape signifies the importance of offering low-barrier opportunities for creative and engaging  co-creation.

This embrace of co-creation is not merely a niche trend; it’s indicative of a broader shift in consumer behavior, particularly among digital natives, including Gen Z. Now making up 40 percent of all global consumers,[7] this generation is becoming untethered from physical spaces and from traditional marketing. In fact, some predict that marketing revenue from “creators” will surpass revenue from traditional marketing by the end of 2025.[8] Coffee brands can’t afford to ignore this—it’s estimated that Gen Z’s combined income by 2031 will surpass that of millennials.[9] If we return to Ogilvy in this current, highly digital, era, what trends is it identifying among a new generation of consumers and how might coffee brands respond to them?

“Brand Is What You Share—Not What You Sell”

In 2022, the Global Consulting Director of Ogilvy, Reid Litman, authored a playbook for brands to navigate their relationships with the growing generation.  He noted that the traditional business model feels too rigid and limiting for postmillennials. “Our research reveals that, more than any previous generation, Gen Z wants to be involved in the ideation and curation of culture-led participatory moments with the brands and people they care about,” wrote Litman. “In order to build a lasting bond with Gen Z, you will need to become a brand that shares: one which not only allows for, but has in place, a digital and physical infrastructure which encourages youth to co-create and help shape the direction of the business at all levels.”[10]  By involving communities from ideation through launch, brands can ensure continuous dialogue, adapt offerings, and transform feedback into an active part of their growth.

According to the report, to connect with digital natives, brands must engage them as creative partners, as this generation values genuine listening and seeks to help build solutions, not just products. Loyalty is tied to co-creation; postmillennials are more likely to stay with and promote brands that offer this, while also being quick to protest against perceived disloyalty. The traditional product cycle is insufficient for this audience, where the brand itself—rather than a “perfect product”—is the unique selling proposition. For them, the brand functions as a platform for shared experiences and co-creation, making the product a secondary outcome. By involving communities from ideation through launch, brands can ensure continuous dialogue, adapt offerings, and transform feedback into an active part of their growth.

How Coffee Brands Can Co-Create with Postmillenials

Specialty coffee marketing has traditionally followed a top-down approach, akin to the traditional innovation cycle where founders have an idea and build from there. Ogilvy’s 2022 report argues that building a brand with postmillenials is far more horizontal. It looks and feels more like friends building a signature drink together at home and online, rather than being “told” about coffee quality by someone else at a coffee shop by the barista.

How can coffee companies leverage the creative energy of digital natives? We can see one of the most explicit examples of this in coffee companies that are run by influencers themselves. Emma Chamberlain, a successful YouTuber, began a coffee brand in what she described as a “passion project.” In a Forbes interview,[11] she explained her business decisions are deeply rooted in co-creation and collaboration. She positions herself as a “home barista, just like the rest of us,” emphasizing that while she’s a “coffee snob,” the brand’s goal is to be inviting and encourage customers to “want to join our community.” Chamberlain noted that she wanted to counteract the sometimes-intimidating branding coming from the specialty coffee sector, asking, “how can I  create a brand that goes completely against that feel?”

In 2023, Chamberlain Coffee launched a limited run of RTD lattes, featuring flavors like classic cold brew, vanilla, mocha, and cinnamon bun, with illustrated animals on the cans.[12] Chamberlain explained that these animals function as relatable characters, helping customers choose a flavor by relating to a specific personality. Furthermore, six months after launching the RTD lattes, Chamberlain Coffee adapted the recipes based on consumer feedback, sharing TikToks with candid, even negative, reviews. Chamberlain embraced this feedback in a Tiktok, liked by nearly 10,000 users, declaring: “I want them to tell it to my face...I won’t  get offended.”[13]

 Not all brands have the social capital of Chamberlain Coffee, but many are nonetheless embracing consumer participation and co-creation. Leaderboard Coffee is an international coffee game, where subscribers—either individuals or groups—receive a package of “mystery coffees” and are challenged to identify key information about each one, using their own skills and expertise, as well as a set of provided resources. The founders, Suneal Pabari from Roasters Pack and Grant Gamble from the Culture Coffee Project, describe it as a “real life arcade game.”[14] Participants can exchange knowledge, theories, and tips in an active Discord channel and, at the close of the “season,” participants can view the answers and their scores in arcade-like animated visuals on social media and Discord.  Despite digitalization, some brands are finding innovative ways to connect with their neighborhoods and build connection with customers within physical spaces. There has been a proliferation of run clubs and other sports groups who use coffee spaces as their community hubs, and concerts and art exhibitions are not out of place in many cafés. As well as having an impressive online presence, Cxffeeblack connects with its local Memphis community by hosting hybrid cyber events where it often combines music, comedy, and coffee,[15] and has successfully crowdsourced over $500,000 with over 1 million dollars in funding.[16] In a social media post, Cxffeeblack co-founder Bartholomew Jones attributed its crowdfunding success to the power of its community, and promised to launch “more cuppings, more flavor experiences, more DJ sets, and more opportunities to really build coffee culture together.”[17]

Specialty coffee marketing often talks about “relationships,” but postmillennials do not want to be passive in their relationships, they want to be active participants—engaging, co-creating, and learning.

I recently interviewed Wells Coffee co-owner Brandon  Wells about the growing movement of morning coffee raves across the globe. Wells Coffee hosted three, and the most recent saw over 700 people show up on a Saturday morning. It began when Brandon’s daughter mentioned to him that one of the baristas was also a DJ and wanted to do a morning coffee rave at Wells. By tapping into the creativity of Gen Z wanting to co-create, brands can leverage their creativity and networks. Specialty coffee marketing often talks about “relationships,” but postmillennials do not want to be passive in their relationships, they want to be active participants—engaging, co-creating, and learning.

Embracing New Relationships with Consumers

Just as past marketing paradigms adapted to new consumer realities, coffee brands can adjust how they navigate the digital landscape. For brands willing to embrace new styles of marketing, including creative co-creation with consumers, there are opportunities for growth. Many trailblazing coffee brands are already laying the groundwork for what this future might look and feel like.

Engaging consumers doesn’t always require extensive marketing expertise or collaboration with famous influencers; numerous co-creation opportunities exist within the coffee community itself. Café spaces are already evolving into vibrant hubs for activities, from run clubs and book clubs, to café raves, helping to build a reputation as a place for shared experiences. Businesses can directly tap into their digital—or local, in-person—communities for feedback on blend names and retail bag designs, or to suggest recipes for new drinks.

Coffee subscription services can integrate interactive games or challenges to complete with each delivery. Beyond traditional promotions, cafés might invite their social media followers to co-create and submit their own versions of the latest seasonal drink.

History demonstrates that the coffee market is sensitive to price shocks and societal shifts, but companies have, in multiple waves before this, adapted their marketing paradigm to ensure not just survival, but success. As Ogilvy shares, winning with younger generations “does not require you to give up existing relationships with older consumers, [or] forgo your legacy or identity.”[18]

Co-creation doesn’t necessarily cede brand identity to consumers; it can empower businesses to better understand the preferences of their market. Embracing the symbiotic relationships favored by digital natives may help coffee companies to design better products, create unique experiences, and cultivate greater brand loyalty. ◊

KOSTA KALLIVROUSIS is a specialty coffee professional—currently based in Athens, Greece—working with Age of Coffee. He has spent over 14 years working across the coffee supply chain, advocating equitable value distribution and stronger producer–roaster relationships.

References

[1] National Coffee Association of U.S.A. and Specialty Coffee Association (SCA), “2025 National Coffee Data Trends: Specialty Coffee Report,” https://sca.coffee/sca-news/2025-national-coffee-data-trends-report-available.

[2] Kenneth Roman in an interview for World Coffee and Tea, 1981, in William Roseberry, “The Rise of Yuppie Coffees and the Reimagination of Class  in the United States,” American Anthropologist,  New Series 98, no. 4 (December 1996): 765,  https://doi.org/10.1525/aa.1996.98.4.02a00070.

[3] Derek Thompson, “The Anti-Social Century,” The Atlantic (January 8, 2025), https://www. theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2025/02/american-loneliness-personality-politics/681091/.

[4] Marc Prensky, “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants,” On the Horizon 9, no. 5 (2001): 1–6, https://doi.org/10.1108/10748120110424816.

[5] Lia Haberman, ““Influencer Studies” Break into the Ivy League,” The Hollywood Reporter (October 11, 2024), https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/influencer-studies-universities/cornell-university/.

[6] Alexa Romano, “From Passive to Active: Expanding Our Understanding of Specialty Coffee Consumers,” 25, Issue 21, sca.coffee/sca-news/25/issue-21/from-passive-to-active-expanding-our-understanding-of-specialty-coffee-consumerism.

[7] Reid Litman, “For Gen Z, Brand Is What You Share, Not What You Sell — Part I,” Ogilvy (October 4, 2022), p. 7, https://www.ogilvy.com/de/eng/ideas/gen-z-brand-what-you-share-not-what-you-sell-part-i.

[8] WPP Media Business Intelligence, “Mid-Year Global Advertising Forecast Update: $1.08 Trillion in 2025 Ad Revenue and 6% Growth,” WPP Media Business Intelligence (June 10, 2025), https://www. wppmedia.com/news/tyny-midyear-2025.

[9] Litman, p.7

[10] Litman, p.7

[11] Alexandra York, “What’s Brewing with Emma Chamberlain,” Forbes (April 14, 2024), https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexyork/2024/04/12/emma-chamberlain-interview-youtube-creator-chamberlain-coffee/?.

[12] Abigail Abesamis Demarest, “Chamberlain Coffee Launches Ready-To-Drink Lattes at Walmart—And Cinnamon Bun Is an Instant Classic,” Forbes (April 20, 2023), https://www.forbes.com/sites/abigailabesamis/2023/04/20/chamberlain-coffee-launches-ready-to-drink-lattes-at-walmart-and-cinnamon-bun-is-an-instant-classic/.

[13] Chamberlain Coffee (Dec 1, 2023),
https://www.tiktok.com/@chamberlaincoffee/video/7307682622342286624.

[14] Leaderboard: The Coffee Game, About Us,  https://leaderboard.coffee/pages/about-us-1.

[15] Bartholomew Jones, “Sampling the Root: Afrofuturism, Hip-Hop Pedagogy, and Coffee’s Infinite Possibilities,” 25, Issue 23, https://sca.coffee/sca-news/25/issue-23-sampling-the-root.

[16] Cxffeblack (May 1, 2025), https://www.instagram.com/cxffeeblack/reel/DJHYnJrxTBz/?.

[17] Cxffeblack (May 1, 2025).

[18] Litman, p.31.

We hope you are as excited as we are about the release of 25, Issue 24. This issue of 25 is made possible with the contributions of specialty coffee businesses who support the activities of the Specialty Coffee Association through its underwriting and sponsorship programs. Learn more about our underwriters here.

The SCA’s Publications Manager, LAUREL CARMICHAEL, introduces a Coffee Science Foundation research project on the sensory impact of physical defects in green coffee, undertaken at the Coffee Excellence Center at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences. 

Introduction by MIRNA NAGI, CSF and SCA Research Program Manager and PETER GIULIANO, CSF Executive Director and Chief Research Officer

The Specialty Coffee Association’s (SCA) Green Coffee Classification standard describes certain physical attributes of coffees as “defects,” which it defines as “a material property of the green or roasted coffee beans that is broadly seen as negative.” But why are these properties “negative” in the first place? Some defects are discolored or visually unappealing, but more significantly, they are assumed to contribute to negative flavors in the cup.

 Recently, during a review of the scientific literature on these defects, we at the Coffee Science Foundation (CSF) realized that there is insufficient research actually linking these physical defects to negative flavors. As part of its commitment to grounding standards in sound science, the SCA provided funding to fill this research gap.

 In late 2024, the CSF released a request for proposals, seeking scientists who were interested in studying this crucial relationship between physical coffee defects and flavor. The aim of the project is to investigate “defects” and their impact in the context of modern sensory, chemical, and toxicological science, in order to provide high-quality information to the SCA’s standards development group and inform their upcoming revision of the SCA Green Coffee Classification and the Coffee Value Assessment.

Upon reviewing the proposals, the CSF awarded a grant to the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), who are collaborating with CESURCAFÉ in Colombia on the project “Understanding Physical Defects in Green Coffee: Impact on Sensory, Aroma Formation and Green Bean Composition.”

 The following feature, authored by our colleague Laurel Carmichael, gives us a glimpse into the research that is underway and shows how challenging flavor science can be. We're excited about the research and other studies that are happening in parallel—it’s all part of our commitment to making coffee better through science and research.

For over a century, coffee professionals have used their eyes to assess the quality of green coffee.

The process of identifying physical, visible defects in coffee—known as green grading, or physical assessment—is a core part of how coffee lots are separated, differentiated, and priced in the marketplace. Coffee professionals throughout the supply chain are trained to count and remove “imperfect” beans from “quality” or “clean” beans, a process has conventionally been part of assessing whether a coffee is “specialty” or not.

 Some of these defects occur during the post-harvest processing of coffee, such as when beans get broken or chipped in a depulper or at the dry mill. Many others—including small holes that insects bore into coffee cherries as they grow on the tree—occur naturally, impacted by the vibrant and sometimes unpredictable ecosystems in which coffee grows. As Camila Khalifé points out in her 2024 talk “Tasting the Standards,” “coffee doesn’t grow without defects.”[1] It’s not uncommon to find a piece of concrete from a drying patio, a kernel of corn (which, yes, might literally pop inside the roaster), or a whole, dried coffee cherry in a bag of green coffee—a testament to the journey coffee takes before it even reaches a roastery.

As well as implementing agricultural practices designed to optimize coffee quality, producers and coffee pickers often perform sorting during harvesting: separating overripe, underripe, or damaged cherries. Before coffee is exported, there’s extensive sorting at wet and dry mills, completed by hand and/or with a series of machines that can separate coffee based on color, size, and density. 

 Why is so much labor expended on a process that ultimately reduces the volume of coffee sold, or coffee sold at a premium price? Why is it considered worthwhile to remove beans that—even if imperfect—have spent months ripening on a tree before being handpicked and meticulously processed? It’s because it’s generally accepted that these defects have a negative impact on the sensory quality of coffee and, accordingly, reduce coffee’s value. This logic underpins numerous grading systems around the world (see figure 1), including the Green Arabica Coffee Classification System, created by the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) in 2001 and explained in the 2004 Washed Arabica Green Coffee Defect Guide.[2] Green grading is high-stakes: as noted in the Specialty Coffee Association’s Cupping and Sensory Handbook, “the presence of defects or lack of uniformity are existential issues,” impacting coffee sellers’ ability to attain premium prices, or even to sell their coffee entirely.[3]

The Current State of Green Grading

Within the Green Arabica Coffee Classification System, defects are categorized into two groups based on their presumed severity: category 1 (primary) and category 2 (secondary) defects. The system assigns defects different weightings, according to how significantly they impact the affected bean and based on an understanding of how they impact a coffee’s overall quality (see figure 2). For example, one “full black bean” (a category 1 defect where the entire bean appears a blackish shade, see figure 3) is equivalent to three “partial black beans” (a category 2 defect). A grader must count five broken, chipped, or cut beans (category 2) before these are considered equivalent to a full category 2 defect. The 2004 cupping protocol—now superseded by Coffee Value Assessment (CVA) standards—stated stringent requirements for specialty grade coffee: “zero category 1 defects” and no more than “five full category 2 defects” in a 350 g sample.[5]

Despite the importance of green grading in the coffee supply chain and economic system, the sector has little objective and scientifically validated information about the impacts that visible defects have on cup quality, and even less so, the threshold at which they impact what we can taste and smell. With little evidence about their sensory impact, defects are assigned fixed values, formally detracting value from the cup. The importance that we assign to the visual identification of physical defects is complicated further by the fact that some of the most impactful defects on cup quality—sensory defects such as phenolic (including the so-called Rio defect), potato, and mold—are usually not visible to the naked eye.[6]

 If we’re doing arithmetic to calculate coffee’s quality, we want to be sure that the logic behind these equations reflects not just what we can see, but what we smell and taste. Are we excluding coffees with great sensory potential because of their physical appearance, the coffee equivalent of judging a book by its cover?

Interrogating the System

With this question in mind, the Coffee Science Foundation (CSF)—a sister organization of the SCA—launched a research project into physical green coffee defects, focusing on their impact on the cup and, importantly, the thresholds at which tasters can perceive them. This research aims to revisit and modernize long-standing standards, quantifying defects not exclusively based on what we can see, but by determining the point (or sensory threshold) at which we can reliably taste a defect. “Current green grading guidelines are based on tradition, rather than on sensory science,” shares Peter Giuliano, head of the CSF. “This research allows us to build more informed standards,” continues Mario Fernández-Alduenda, the SCA’s Technical Officer. “We want to build a system that’s informed, rather than arbitrary.” These aims are also driven by the SCA’s CVA, a paradigm that focuses less on scores as an exclusionary threshold for defining quality and “specialty” and more on the multiple attributes that make coffees valuable in the marketplace.[7]

Researchers at the Coffee Excellence Center at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) in Switzerland are collaborating with CESURCAFÉ, a coffee research center at the Universidad Surcolombiana in Colombia, to test if the current logic of the SCA green grading protocol is justified. This study, along with research conducted by University of California Davis on defects from Brazil and Guatemala, will inform an update to the CVA Physical Assessment and Form.

 “Coffee is a natural product that spends a long time on the tree during cultivation and undergoes extensive post-harvest processing,” shares Dr. Sebastian Optiz, a green coffee expert and the project lead from ZHAW. While conventions punish certain defects very heavily, this weighting isn’t always based on the sensory science of what we can perceive in the cup, Sebastian shares. “Identifying defects isn’t always a black-and-white process.”

Seeking Defective Coffee

Instead of rigorously removing defects, this research involves deliberately sourcing them. To achieve this, the team from CESURCAFÉ has been gathering and manually selecting defective beans from coffee farms, collection points, and processing mills in southern Huila, Colombia. The specific defects are taken from pasilla lots—coffees with high defect counts typically not destined for export. Led by Professor Nelson Gutiérrez Guzmán and Nicolás Tovar Jacobo, the team dedicated weeks of meticulous attention to gathering and classifying 500 g of each of the 12 targeted defects from both the category 1 and category 2 list of the Arabica Green Grading system (see figure 4). These defects are sourced exclusively from arabica lots, primarily consisting of Castillo, Colombia, and Caturra cultivars.

The team at the Coffee Excellence Center then roasts both the defective and non-defective coffees to a “medium” degree. Sebastian explains that the roast profile was developed based on a clean reference lot (sourced from the same region, a similar blend of cultivars, and considered “specialty”), with the aim of optimizing its sensory qualities. To simulate real-world roasting conditions, this clean coffee roast profile is then replicated for each of the defective lots. Subsequently, these carefully sourced and roasted defects are used to “spike” the “clean” reference lot.

Sensory Thresholds and Perception

This process of spiking a clean coffee with certain ratios of defects and completing sensory analysis is the core of the research. Research is conducted with a trained panel of coffee professionals in two steps: descriptive assessment and triangulation (the triangle test). First, the team conducts a descriptive analysis, testing how the defects manifest in the cup at different concentrations. To record their results, the panel uses a customized version of the CVA Descriptive Form. The initial descriptive assessment exercise ensures that the panelists are calibrated to identify the defects, ensuring that they know what they’re looking for when they later identify the thresholds for sensory perception. The defects, says Samo Smrke, acting head of the Coffee Excellence Center, vary subtly at different concentrations and even temperatures, meaning that it’s important to build a “character profile” for each of the key defects. Beyond calibration, this process builds more precise descriptors—based on the SCA Flavor Wheel and Lexicon—for the wider sector.

 Once the defects have been characterized, the next step is to determine the threshold at which they’re perceptible. The panel conducts weekly triangulation tests—a common style of discriminative sensory test, where cuppers attempt to identify the “odd one out” of sets of three cups.[8] For these triangulation experiments, the team spikes the defect-free reference lot with different ratios of defects, ranging from 1 g of defects per 60 g of clean coffee (approximately 1.67%) to 30  g of defects per 60  g (50%). These ratios are the same as the cuppers learn to describe and identify the defect at during descriptive calibration. They then group one "defect spiked" cup alongside two "clean cups" in triangles—a format similar to the Cup Tasters Championship—with defect ratios presented at random along the table.

 The goal for the cuppers is to consistently identify the cup containing the defects, if any, that they learned to identify during the descriptive analysis. When they can reliably do so, this establishes the sensory threshold—the specific ratio of defective to clean coffee at which the defect becomes reliably perceptible. As a hypothetical example: if panelists can’t consistently identify a defect at a 1:60 g or 3:60 g ratio but consistently identify it at 5:60 g (or 8.3%), then 5:60 g is established as that defect’s sensory threshold. The implications for the wider sector are significant: if a panel of coffee tasters can only identify a defect at a threshold of 7.5% in a controlled experiment, this indicates that consumers are highly unlikely to notice a flavor impact below this threshold, especially in a café or home-brewing context.

The Chemistry of Green Defects

A coffee assessor’s nose, Sebastian notes, can be the most sensitive tool for analyzing coffee’s aroma. However, conducting chemical analysis on physical defects allows the research team to build an additional layer of information, turning what we can smell into data—in this case breaking down defects into a series of chemical compounds. The team at the Coffee Excellence Research Center uses a process called gas chromatography (GC) to separate individual compounds, and a technique called mass spectrometry to identify these compounds.[9]

 A further step, known as gas chromatography coupled to olfactometry (GC-O), combines sensory and chemical analysis. Once the compounds are separated by GC, their odor is shot out of an olfaction port, giving the researchers a chance to smell the individual odor compounds in concentrated form. Sour beans, for example, have a number of fruity and sour-smelling compounds, but the coffee sector and scientists don’t always know what they are. Using GC-O, the researchers can identify compounds by smell while the machine identifies their chemistry, allowing them to positively identify the causes of the aroma. 

 The team is also using a solvent-assisted flavor evaporation (S.A.F.E.) method to gently extract  volatile aromatic compounds from coffees.[10] They can concentrate these volatiles and then conduct sensory tests on them at different dilutions, mirroring how they might present in coffee.

 Beyond identifying compounds associated with certain sensory characteristics, chemical analysis allows the team to test for toxins, such as ochratoxin, a mycotoxin commonly associated with fungus-damaged coffee. This research will help give insights into the possible health risks (if any) associated with physical defects in coffee.

Revising the System for the Sector

The goal of this research is to ensure that green grading systems are rooted in rigorous, contemporary science. The findings, alongside research from the University of California Davis Coffee Center, will directly inform a revision of the SCA’s CVA Physical Assessment Standard in the coming years. This critical revision, Nicolás from CESURCAFÉ shares, could lead to “a more accurate and transparent system for evaluating coffee, based more on sensory features than just the visual count of defects.”

 History shows us that perceptions of physical defects can evolve; peaberries—small, round beans that occur when a coffee cherry forms one seed instead of two—were once deemed defects but are now often prized for their unique qualities. The sector is changing: new processing methods are reshaping our idea of what coffee beans should look and taste like, and climate change is making it harder to protect coffee from insects and unpredictable weather during ripening. The way we assess green coffee must evolve to reflect this, helping all actors in the value chain form clearer understandings of each coffee’s sensory attributes. ◊

LAUREL CARMICHAEL is a former roaster and green coffee buyer, and the current Publications Manager at the SCA.

References

[1] Camila Khalifé, “Tasting the Standards: A Comprehensive View of Green Coffee Defects,” Roast Magazine Roast Summit, 2024, https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=feSfLNGXYiI.

[2] Specialty Coffee Association of America, Arabica Green Coffee Defect Handbook (Specialty Coffee Association of America, 2004).

[3] Mario R. Fernández-Alduenda and Peter Giuliano, Coffee Sensory and Cupping Handbook (Specialty Coffee Association, 2021), p. 111.

[4] International Coffee Council “National Quality Standards,” 122nd Session of the International Coffee Council, London, United Kingdom, September 17–21, 2018, August 23, 2018.

[5] The SCA proposes a definition of specialty coffee that celebrates attributes that add perceived value in a market. A lack, or minimal presence, of physical defects is just one of many attributes that could help to define a coffee as “specialty.” Specialty Coffee Association (SCA), Towards a New Definition of Specialty Coffee

(2021), sca.coffee/sca-news/just-released-new-sca-white-paper-towards-a-definition-of-specialty-coffee.

[6] The causes and chemical compounds responsible for these defects have been widely studied, as well as their impact on sensory characteristics. Because they impact a cupper’s impression of quality, phenolic, mold, and potato defects are recorded in the Affective Assessment component of the SCA’s CVA.

[7] Towards a New Definition of Specialty Coffee.

[8] The team organizes this experiment according to standards on sensitivity of taste (ISO 3972:2011) and the triangle test (ISO 4120:2021), established by the International Organization for Standarization.

[9] Thermo Fischer Scientific, Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) Information, accessed on 29.06.2025 at https://www.thermofisher.com/ch/en/home/industrial/mass-spectrometry/mass-spectrometry-learning-center/gas-chromatography-mass-spectrometry-gc-ms-information.html?.

[10] Solven-assisted flavor evaporation methods are time-consuming and rarely used in the coffee sector. These methods allow the researchers to detect volatiles at  higher sensitivity.

We hope you are as excited as we are about the release of 25, Issue 24. This issue of 25 is made possible with the contributions of specialty coffee businesses who support the activities of the Specialty Coffee Association through its underwriting and sponsorship programs. Learn more about our underwriters here.

Scholar and PhD candidate JORDAN BUCHANAN shares their research into the rise of the specialty café scene in Puebla state, Mexico, focusing on the journey and testimony of coffee-shop owners.

Introduction by MARIO FERNÁNDEZ-ALDUENDA, SCA Technical Officer

Between 1990 and 1995, I lived in Puebla, a state in Mexico, for my college studies. Thirty years ago, and coming from a coffee-producing family, I was frustrated at the absence of good coffee shops in town. The few places that focused on coffee carried a very dark roast (which disguised the coffee’s character) and relied on selling milk-based drinks.

In spring 2025, I accompanied my daughter to visit the same university where I studied. Walking around the university campus, I was surprised to find more than a dozen specialty coffee shops. My daughter and I visited at least five of them and they were all excellent! I confess I envied my daughter a little bit—if she ends up going to that university, she will have the opportunity I did not have to enjoy those incredible coffee shops during her studies. I could not help but wonder: when, and how, did these coffee shops get here?

The following article tells us part of the story. The author, Jordan Buchanan, introduces us to a few pioneers who instilled a passion for coffee in the younger generation. The coffee shops portrayed here are inspiring examples of successful specialty coffee businesses in a coffee-producing country.

However, not all the pioneering businesses from the early days survived to be interviewed by the author. Between 2006 and 2009, my wife and I owned a specialty coffee shop in Xalapa, just two hours’ drive from Puebla. It was the first coffee shop in that region to incorporate elements of what we would now consider “Third Wave,” and we put a lot of attention into coffee quality. Unfortunately, our coffee shop went out of business. The reason?  In the words of several contemporary coffee friends, it was ahead of its time. Perhaps now, in today’s Mexico café culture, it would survive. I would thus like to believe that the thriving Mexico café culture of today exists because of seeds that were planted over decades—not just by those successful businesses that still live on, but also by the many more that were lost along the way.

While many specialty coffee consumers and professionals associate Mexico’s specialty coffee sector with coffee-speckled mountains and green coffee exports, the country has a vivacious urban specialty café scene.

Today, specialty cafés are widespread across Mexico, and almost any newly opened café carries the “specialty” label with pride. This triumph of specialty café culture in Mexico has occurred thanks to the key actors who pioneered the trade in Mexican cities between 2008 and 2020 (before the onset of the Covid pandemic). As a scholar interested in specialty coffee and urban environments, I was interested in tracing the growth of specialty coffee consumption in Mexico. Within my research, I aimed to challenge the presumed binary of “producing” and “consuming” nations and to defy the “poverty narrative” that often dominates coffee studies on Latin America.

 Between September 2020 and April 2021, I conducted interviews with six coffee shop owners from five cafés in Puebla city.[1] I selected coffee shops that self-identified as “specialty cafés” prior to 2018,[2] meaning they had witnessed, and contributed to, the rise of the specialty movement in Mexico. My research focused on coffee shop owners who—at the time of my research—were running successful operations and had made profound contributions to specialty coffee culture.[3]

Planting the Café Culture: The Emergence of Specialty Cafés in Puebla City

Capital city bias affects many of our perceptions of national culture. Mexico City dominates many internationals’ perceptions of and associations with the country. To understand the rise of specialty café culture in Mexico, we need to move beyond the capital. The rise there does not represent the rise across the country, as specialty pioneers in other cities learned from Mexico City actors and spread specialty café businesses in other parts of the country. However, it is worth recognizing that significant cafés such as PassMar and Café Avellaneda were some of the first to take up the specialty ambition and influenced how people moved the trade forward. The Mexican Coffee Exposition, held every year in September in Mexico City, started in 2002 and was another major influence in bringing people together in the specialty trade, inspiring them to open specialty cafés.

Puebla city, the fourth-largest city in Mexico, is a major industrial and administrative center, serving as the capital of the coffee-producing state of Puebla. Its specialty café scene developed concurrently with Mexico City’s. One of the people I interviewed, Franco, is recognized as “the pioneer of specialty cafés” among his peers because of his early influence in constructing the culture in the city. Pasticel, Franco’s café, was founded in 2008 as a pastry shop that sold coffee on the side. However, as Franco’s coffee knowledge deepened, he became immersed in specialty coffee, even leaving his studies to dedicate himself to the trade. Pasticel’s early days were challenging, and Franco found himself sleeping on the floor of Pasticel, unable to afford both a living and a retail space. With perseverance, he overcame these difficulties and created a center for specialty coffee enthusiasts in Puebla, consolidating his idea of specialty by 2011. Franco’s café then became a place of learning for other future specialty café owners. Two baristas, Marco and Mario, were initiated into the specialty world by working with Franco, and both went on to set up two eminent specialty cafés: Marco’s Brewers in Atlixco, Puebla state, and Mario’s Café Cultura in the historic center of Puebla city.

Marco’s entry to the coffee world was serendipitous. In 2004, his twin brother, José Luis, was developing an interest in coffee and had organized a trip to the Mexican Coffee Exposition in Mexico City. When José Luis was injured that morning, Marco agreed to go in his place and report back what he learned—despite his initial disinterest in coffee. What he found there altered his vision. At the barista championship, Marco gained a deeper understanding of the barista’s role in the coffee supply chain. He explained that he “fell in love with coffee because the barista is the voice of the producer, the roaster, of all of the production chain of coffee.” “The barista,” he learned, “is the one that has to give voice to all these people and all the work that they do to obtain this wonderful bean.” On return, Marco went back to his life as a musician, but the seed of coffee desire had been planted. He later joined Franco at Pasticel as a barista and experimented with a coffee stall at a festival in his hometown of Atlixco. In 2013, Marco opened Brewers Café to permanently bring the specialty scene to his beloved Atlixco.

 The other direct offshoot of Pasticel was Café Cultura led by Mario. Having worked in other trades, Mario’s year as a barista inspired him to deepen his knowledge of specialty coffee and to aspire to opening his own specialty café. He then spent a year working with his wife in Baja California’s tourist economy to save money before returning to Puebla to realize his ambition of opening his café. In 2014, Mario opened the first specialty café in Puebla’s historic center. The process was challenging, as many city residents were yet to embrace specialty consumer culture. He recalled a day during his first month when he sold just one coffee to a friend, which led him to question his decision to open a café. But Mario’s resilience triumphed; he determined that any day that he sold more than one coffee was a step forward. Mario persevered, and today he tells that story with pride. Thanks to his contribution, Puebla’s historic center is now saturated with specialty cafés that benefited from the work of early specialty entrepreneurs who influenced coffee culture in the city.

Coexistence and Collaboration: Café Owners Find Belonging

These first-mover cafés influenced the growing awareness and presence of specialty café culture in the city. Two other eminent cafés that shaped the rise of specialty culture in Puebla were Antonio’s Panela Canela (opened 2015) and Gabriel and Laura’s Miel Negra (opened 2017). Both cafés built on the momentum generated by their predecessors, thereby accelerating the growth of specialty café culture in Puebla.

Antonio’s journey into coffee was unique. Having previously worked in the wine trade, he initially did not consume coffee because he was indifferent to the taste. In 2011, a period of illness led him to drink coffee to boost his energy. Drinking it more regularly sparked his interest and desire to learn more about coffee. 

In 2013, he discovered specialty coffee by attending a workshop on the topic in Puebla. This experience solidified his desire to pursue coffee as his new venture: he studied more about specialty coffee, learned how to roast it, and opened Panela Canela in 2015 in Cholula—an independent municipality connected to Puebla city’s periphery. Antonio explained that he finds the sense of coexistence and connectedness in coffee appealing. “Each coffee and each barista is a piece of the chain that functions as a complete unit,” he shared. “I believe that we are all pieces inside this chain.”

Antonio explained that he finds the sense of coexistence and connectedness in coffee appealing. “Each coffee and each barista is a piece of the chain that functions as a complete unit,” he shared. “I believe that we are all pieces inside this chain.”

Miel Negra was the joint creation of Gabriel and Laura that advanced the specialty café scene in Puebla. Laura worked in an administrative role in Mexico City before she decided to move to Puebla to be with family and seek meaningful work. Gabriel worked in hospitality as a waiter, barman, and supervisor. The two got together while on their different career journeys and shared a passion for coffee. In 2016, they decided to collaborate to launch a professional project that allowed them to use each other’s skills and dedicate their professional lives to a common cause; Miel Negra was the result. Gabriel and Laura see it as a personal and collaborative project: “We see it as our child, a product we both made.”

Each protagonist in these origin stories encountered specialty coffee during their own life journey. Working in other trades, none of my interviewees had imagined embarking on specialty coffee careers, until they encountered specialty through their proximity to coffee growing in Puebla state, and their own coffee consumption habits. The next section explores what those key factors were that influenced the motivations and decisions to fully commit to the specialty movement.

Watering the Café Culture: Motivations for Running a Specialty Café

Waking up each day to smell the coffee is a cliché for most of us, but for these pioneers of specialty café culture in Puebla, it was a part of their daily routine as they conducted the laborious task of running a café. It is easy to have romantic dreams of running a café; to pursue these dreams is another matter. What motivated these people to dedicate their daily life to flipping the AeroPress? The specialty coffee shop owners I interviewed expressed three common motivations for taking on the challenge of running a specialty café: the desire to learn about specialty coffee, a passion for work, and a desire to contribute to society.

Knowledge acquisition was a major motivation for these entrepreneurs to launch their business. All these Poblano[4] café owners discovered specialty coffee in Mexico and, while some expanded their knowledge through international activities, largely cultivated their knowledge domestically—at the annual national expo, through workshops, or by visiting other cafés. The learning process was crucial to changing these owners’ perceptions of specialty coffee, and their consequent decision to open a café was a direct response to what they could do with this new knowledge and passion.

Passionate engagement with their work was a common theme among the specialty coffee shop owners’ motivations. The people I interviewed had all dedicated themselves to different lines of work prior to coffee, and a passion for coffee and work motivated them to change careers. Gabriel explained that his motivations were “not so much about earnings. [They were] about passion.” For these owners, the traditional business logic of maximizing profits was not the guiding force; instead, maximizing their enjoyment of their passion was the major impetus.

A significant aspect of each owner’s coffee story was their desire to contribute to society. Two common goals were to support the coffee chain and to offer quality coffee to people in their city. Having themselves experienced learning and fulfilment through coffee, each owner expressed a desire to support others. They described farmers as valuable members of the supply chain, deserving of care and support, and underscored the need to improve the lives of rural laborers. For example, Laura of Miel Negra felt that specialty coffee was a “chain of support” for the lives of rural communities. Additionally, owners stressed the importance of improving baristas’ training and work conditions, as baristas are another core element of the coffee chain. Mario of Café Cultura recognized that “all of the work behind the coffee can be lost at that last moment if the barista is not well trained.”

By setting up a coffee shop, owners were able to fulfill this contribution to the chain and to promote specialty coffee to the wider public. One of the challenges owners faced was convincing consumers to move from traditional commercial coffee to specialty coffee. Franco of Pasticel described how “many people consume burnt coffee and commercial coffee. They do not appreciate Mexican coffee and its origin or character. I try to share all these things in the coffee shop.” The desire to instill pride in Mexican coffee and share their deep passion and joy for specialty coffee significantly influenced their actions as pioneers, extending their love for coffee to the consuming public.

Harvesting the Coffee Culture: By Way of Conclusion

Thanks to the efforts of the specialty café pioneers in Puebla from 2008 to 2020, the city now enjoys the results of that labor. The pioneers endeavored to change coffee culture in the city, were faced by challenges, but were highly motivated to promote specialty coffee. Today, almost any new coffee shop that opens in the city boasts a specialty status. Rarely do people question whether specialty is quality, and almost never whether it is worthwhile. Specialty coffee has become the norm in Puebla, and in Mexico as a whole. We owe that to the resilience and passion of the specialty café pioneers. ◊

JORDAN BUCHANAN is completing their PhD at the University of California San Diego in Latin American History with a focus on urbanism. As part of their professional research, they examine the rise of specialty café culture in Latin America as a way to increase our understanding of urban life in the region and better appreciate Latin America’s relationship with global capitalism.  

References

[1]I also interviewed coffee shop owners in Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Oaxaca city, but have chosen to focus on Puebla city for this piece. 

You can read the full journal article, including the research in Oaxaca city at: Jordan Buchanan,

“Communicating Coffee: Owners and Workers’ Role and Experiences during the Rise of Specialty Cafés in Two Mexican Cities, 2010–20,” The Latin Americanist 67, no. 2 (2023): 121, 154, https://dx.doi. org/10.1353/tla.2023.a899971.

[2]Because the Covid lockdowns affected the entire sector and the evolution of specialty café culture so profoundly, I chose to focus on business owners who had established solid foundations prior to these lockdowns. 

[3]It’s important to note that I chose to interview specialty coffee trailblazers, whose experiences, although often relatable, are not universal. All coffee shops face challenges, and, despite perseverance, skill, passion, and entrepreneurship, not all succeed commercially.

[4] Poblano is a term used describe residents of Puebla, as well as a type of chili.

We hope you are as excited as we are about the release of 25, Issue 24. This issue of 25 is made possible with the contributions of specialty coffee businesses who support the activities of the Specialty Coffee Association through its underwriting and sponsorship programs. Learn more about our underwriters here.

PhD student ANNA LUIZA SANTANA NEVES shares their research into Brazil’s everyday and culturally informed coffee and food pairings, from pão de queijo to chocolate.

Introduction by LAUREL CARMICHAEL, SCA Publications Manager

If you’ve ever been in Germany around 3 pm, particularly on a Sunday, you’ve likely encountered Kaffee und Kuchen Zeit (coffee and cake time). This mid-afternoon ritual is usually conducted with friends or family and is deeply entrenched in German society—it’s a time for gossip, indulgence, and family catch-ups. The coffee and cake pairings themselves are often regional; for example, Black Forest cake (Schwarzwalder Kirschtorte) comes from the region with the same name, while Lebkuchen, a spiced gingerbread, comes from Bavaria and is popular with coffee during the winter holidays. In Berlin, during Ramadan, you’ll often see people enjoying Turkish and Arabic coffee and tea with sweets after sunset.

The following article features Anna Luiza Santana Neves’ study on coffee and food pairing in Brazil. Neves used a mixed-methods approach to capture the complexity of pairings. The study utilized a freelisting approach to identify participants’ instinctive associations and a projective mapping approach where participants visually arranged photos of coffee and food to reveal “clusters” or common groupings that help us understand the myriad of reasons why and how people pair coffee with food.

This research reminds anyone who serves coffee and food—whether it be in a café or at a home-made brunch for friends—that combinations can do everything from evoking nostalgia to providing a morning pick-me-up to helping people display and define their own identity. The feature by Kosta Kallivrousis earlier in this issue (p.8) reminds us that digital natives are seeking experiences of co-creation and engagement with cafés, roasteries, and other coffee brands. Hosting food-pairing events—which Anna Luiza reminds us is deeply sentimental—is a great way to build real and lasting connections with customers. It’s also always fascinating to hear people’s associations with coffee and food—whether they align with ours or not! Maybe you could consider soliciting your communities’ food and coffee preferences on social media, or even hosting an in-person event centered around coffee, food, and storytelling.

Coffee is a symbolic and sentimental beverage, deeply embedded in many countries’ cultures and daily eating habits.

For example, in Italy, historic coffee culture has been shaped by espresso beverages and robusta. Turkish coffee, also enjoyed across the Middle East, is a symbol of hospitality and is often enhanced with aromatic spices, like cardamom or star anise.[1] In Ethiopia, coffee is embedded in centuries-old rituals, and is sometimes served with salt, butter, or tena Adam (rue) leaves.[2] Over the past two decades, the coffee sector in Brazil has undergone profound changes in consumer behavior, with consumers not only seeking higher-quality retail coffee, but also seeking a differentiated coffee experience. However, the predominant consumption is still of “traditional” coffee—typically with low sweetness and acidity and medium–high bitterness—and comparatively affordable retail coffee.

 Brazil has approximately 125 million coffee consumers, representing more than half of the population. Coffee not only contributes to a national identity, it also transcends its commodity status to become a fundamental part of daily life. Beyond caffeine, it’s a source of pleasure and social connection: from breakfast to family gatherings.[3] These rich traditions show that coffee carries deep significance in different contexts—meanings that are enhanced further when it is paired with food. From traditional breakfast combinations to modern café experiences, the way we pair coffee with food is shaped by sensory compatibility, habits, and regional traditions. Mara V. Galmarini[4] and Charles Spence[5] highlight that food and beverage pairings are influenced by three main factors: chemical similarities, culinary culture, and aesthetic harmony. What’s more, we can organize these pairing traditions and conventions based on three ways we experience them: perceptual (how they taste, smell, and feel in our mouths); conceptual or intellectual (how we group or categorize them based on shared ideas or characteristics); and affective (what we like, prefer, or dislike). To understand how Brazilians pair coffee with food, and the complex social, cultural, and sensory factors that influence these pairings, we conducted a nationwide study using both online and in-person research.

The Study: Food Meets Coffee Across Brazil

Our research employed a mixed-methods approach, with the study divided into two phases. In phase one, we conducted an online survey where 300 participants were asked to identify culturally significant foods commonly associated with coffee. In phase two, we conducted an in-person activity known as projective mapping, where we asked 48 participants about their perceptions of certain coffee beverages. By combining these methods, this study provides a nuanced understanding of Brazilian coffee culture, contributing to sensory and consumer research.

Phase One: Consumption Habits and Free-Listed Food Associations

For our online survey, we used an interview technique known as free-listing. This technique is typically used to identify shared perceptions and concepts (known as cultural domains) rather than individual preferences. The results can then be analyzed to determine each item’s importance, prominence, familiarity, or cultural relevance.[6] We developed an online questionnaire using Google Forms and distributed it across Brazil’s five geographic regions: north, northeast, central-west, southeast, and south. These regions share certain cultural and gastronomic similarities, but also exhibit important differences due to Brazil’s large territorial span.

The questionnaire was divided into three sections. In the first section, we asked participants about coffee consumption habits, such as preference for traditional or specialty coffee, knowledge of coffee species (in this case arabica and robusta), preparation methods, and frequency of consumption. Only individuals who drank coffee daily were allowed to participate. The second section gathered basic socio-demographic information, including participants’ age, gender, region, and consumption habits. Our online survey revealed that while traditional coffee remains popular, there is growing interest in specialty coffee. Among the 300 respondents,[7] 67% were traditional coffee drinkers, while 33% reported consuming specialty or gourmet coffee. Of those who drank specialty coffee, 56% did so only occasionally.

When asked about coffee species, 39% said they consumed only arabica, while 32.2% were unaware of or indifferent to the species of coffee they usually consumed. Regarding preparation methods, 66.7% preferred Melitta® (a popular paper-filtered brewing method in Brazil), followed by espresso (53.8%). The survey results informed us that while Brazil still loves traditional coffee, young people are driving a shift towards habits and preferences we associate with specialty.

The third section of the survey aimed to gather participants’ associations between coffee and food. They were asked, as simply and specifically as possible, and without help from others, to “please list all the foods you think go well with coffee.”

Phase One Findings: Popular Coffee Pairings

The free-listing task generated 1,240 words related to coffee consumption. We selected foods that were mentioned by 10% or more of participants, resulting in a list of 14 foods (see figure 1).[8] The foods that were listed stood out because of multiple factors, including flavor, color, texture, personal associations and memories, and novelty. It was important to us that regional foods—such a pão de queijo (cheese bread), Brazilian corn couscous,[9] and tapioca—weren’t forgotten.[10]

We then took these 14 foods and grouped them into three main clusters based on their sensory and cultural connections to coffee, using a process called hierarchical cluster analysis (see figure 2). We found three groupings of food and coffee pairings, that we describe as: “comforting and traditional,” “versatile and regional,” and “indulgent and experiential.”

Comforting and Traditional Cluster

The first group includes carbohydrate-based foods that are simple and quick to prepare—such as bread with butter, pão de queijo, and homemade cake—commonly eaten for breakfast or as an afternoon snack. These foods combine the comfort of home cooking with everyday practicality, and most have been popular for a long period of time.

Versatile and Regional Cluster

The second group blends traditional and versatile items, spanning regional dishes and familiar breakfast options. It includes corn couscous, tapioca, toast, cake, bread, and cookies—mostly carbohydrate-rich. A key insight here is the similarity between couscous and tapioca, both culturally significant in the northeast of Brazil, with Indigenous and African roots.[12] Aside from cake, most of the foods in this group are typically savory, and many are versatile—for example, toast, bread, and crackers can be used as bases for different toppings. This cluster highlights foods that are starchy and adaptable, and that have a strong presence in Brazilian coffee habits.

Indulgent and Experiential Cluster

The third group comprises foods linked to pleasure and relaxation—typically consumed during breaks or as afternoon snacks. Examples include chocolate, cheese, cookies, sweets, and milk. These foods are often chosen because consumers like their sensory interaction with coffee. Milk products, for instance, soften coffee’s bitterness, acidity, and astringency. Sweets balance coffee’s bold flavors. Chocolate and cheese provide rich textures and intense flavors, making for interesting pairings. This group emphasizes that coffee is not just a breakfast drink—it’s also part of moments of pleasure and enjoyment.[13]

Phase Two: Mapping Coffee Preferences

The main objective of Projective Mapping (PM) was to compare different coffee-based beverages based on participants’ perceptions. This technique enabled us to visualize how different types of coffee beverages—such as espresso, filtered coffee, cold brew, and milk-based coffee drinks—are positioned within a shared sensory and conceptual space and how they relate to the three clusters of food we identified (see figure 3).

In this stage, 48 volunteers were recruited via Google Forms. The group included students, staff, and professors from the University of Campinas (UNICAMP), as well as other coffee consumers from the city of Campinas—a university hub that attracts people from across Brazil, providing a degree of regional diversity. We gave each participant a sheet of paper and labeled photos of 11 different coffee beverages—espresso, cold brew, espresso lungo, paper-filtered brewed coffee, cloth-filtered coffee, ristretto, French press coffee, coffee frappé, mochaccino, cappuccino, and milky coffee. We asked them to evaluate each of the 11 coffee beverages, based on the beverages’ sensory qualities, the participants’ likes or dislikes, and the contexts in which they are consumed. Based on these factors, we instructed participants to “place those that are similar close together” and “those that are different further apart.”

Next, we provided a set of 12 cards, containing the names of foods selected based on their ranking in the free-listing task.[14] Participants were instructed to “analyze the foods based on their sensory characteristics and how suitable they are for consumption with coffee,” and place the food cards closest to the beverages they best complement. If they believed that a food didn’t pair well with any beverage, they were instructed to position the card further away. Participants were given the option to rearrange the cards as they went, reflecting their flexible calculus of which foods paired with different beverages. They could also write additional notes to describe or name any groups, pairs, or clusters that emerged.

Coffee as a Sensory Language

The projective mapping technique provided a clear visualization of how participants perceived differences between black coffees and milk-based coffees. Coffees with milk were consistently grouped on the right side of the maps, while filtered and black coffees were grouped on the left. These groupings reflected perceived similarities among the beverages. Cold brew formed a separate cluster, likely because it is still relatively new in Brazil and perceived as different—both in flavor and in its appeal to a niche audience.

When foods were included in the mapping activity, they were almost exclusively associated with black coffees—particularly starch-rich items like pão de queijo, bread (with or without butter), toast, and cake. Foods that we categorized as “indulgent and experiential,” including chocolates, cookies, and other sweets, were clustered together, closer to beverages such as “ristretto” or “lungo.” Interestingly, no food was associated with milk-based coffees or cold brew, indicating that these pairings are not yet culturally or sensorially established.

Cheese, however, appeared near both filtered coffee and espresso, which makes sense from both a sensory and a cultural standpoint. The bitterness of black coffee is balanced by the fat and umami in cheese, creating a pleasant contrast. Culturally, cheese is a common part of Brazilian breakfasts—often in sandwiches—reinforcing this familiar pairing.

After arranging the cards, we invited participants to write down descriptive words based on their experiences and impressions. When we analyzed these responses using a process called triangulation, we were able to match beverages with their associated characteristics (see figure 4). These descriptions mirror some of the food clusters we identified, and show how our perceptions of coffee combine flavor, emotion, and cultural associations—all of which influence how we choose and enjoy different coffee types. Understanding these pairings can help cafés, restaurants, and retailers craft menus and marketing strategies that reflect local traditions while appealing to global trends.

Food and Coffee Pairing: A New Frontier for Specialty Coffee?

For cafés, roasters, and retailers, understanding these pairings offers insight into how to design menus, recommend pairings, and connect with consumers at a deeper level. In Brazil, coffee pairing is not driven by gourmet rules, but by lived experiences, cultural memory, and emotional cues.

The next frontier in specialty coffee may be not only how we drink it, but what we eat with it and why. As coffee-drinking habits differ between regions and generations, there is no single version of a perfect coffee and food pairing and there is room for cafés, restaurants, and retailers to help build new, positive associations. The lack of associations between cold brew and milk-based coffees with food in our study, for example, demonstrates an opportunity for innovation in the Brazilian market.

Personally, I enjoy pairing coffees with fruity profiles with pão de queijo, because I think higher acidity coffee balances the fat of cheese. We already know the classic pairing between coffee and chocolate, but I found recently that the sweetness and delicate acidity of ruby chocolate was especially delicious in balance with robusta’s bitterness. These pairings are driven by my sensory preferences, but also by cultural familiarity and the joy of new discoveries. They remind us that pairing with coffee is not just a sensory practice, but also a personal and cultural journey in constant transformation. ◊

ANNA LUIZA SANTANA NEVES is a PhD student at the Department of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Brazil. Their research explores the intersection of sensory science, food culture, and consumer behavior in the context of Brazilian coffee traditions.

References

[1] Serkan Yiğit and Nilüfer Şahin Perçin, “How Would You Like Your Turkish Coffee? Tourist Experiences of Turkish Coffee Houses in Istanbul,” International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research 15, no. 3 (2021): 443–454,  https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCTHR-11-2020-0274.

[2] Messenbet Geremew, Neela Satheesh, and Solomon Workneh Fanta, “Role of Coffee in Ethiopian Ethnic Culture–A Coffee Festival,” 2nd International Conference on Coffee and Cocoa (2022).

[3] Camila R. Arcanjo Teles and Jorge H. Behrens, “The Waves of Coffee and the Emergence of the New Brazilian Consumer,” in Coffee Consumption and Industry Strategies in Brazil, 1st ed., edited by Eduardo Eugenio Spers and Luciana Florêncio Almeida (Woodhead Publishing, 2020), pp. 257–274; Lilian Maluf de Lima et al., “Behavioral Aspects of the Coffee Consumer in Different Countries: The Case of Brazil,” 

in Coffee Consumption and Industry Strategies in Brazil.

[4] Mara V. Galmarini, “The Role of Sensory Science in the Evaluation of Food Pairing,” Current Opinion in Food Science 33 (2020): 149–155,  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cofs.2020.05.003.

[5] Charles Spence, “Food and Beverage Flavour Pairing A Critical Review of the Literature,” Food Research International 133 (2020): 109124, https://doi.org/10.1016/j. foodres.2020.109124.

[6] Caitlyn Placek, Eric Budzielek, Lillian White, and Deanna Williams, “Anthropology in Evaluation: Free-Listing to Generate Cultural Models,” American Journal of  Evaluation 45, no. 2 (January 2023): 109821402211160,  https://doi.org/10.1177/10982140221116095.

[7] The majority (60.4%) of our survey respondents were women; 41.8% were aged between 25 and 35 years, and 58.2% held a graduate degree.

[8]  In addition to measuring the frequency with which foods were mentioned, we studied the order (or rank) in which they were mentioned, and measured their cognitive salience index.

[9] Brazilian corn couscous is one of the most iconic and beloved dishes in Brazil, especially in the northeast region. Simple, versatile, and full of flavor, it is made with corn flakes, hydrated and steamed, usually in a couscous maker. It is eaten for breakfast or dinner, or as a side dish with other dishes.

[10] National Geographic Brasil, “Qual é a origem do pão de queijo?” (August 2024), 

https://www.nationalgeographicbrasil.com/cultura/2024/08/qual-e-a-origem-do-pao-de-queijo.

[11] Brazilian sweets: small, traditional treats that are often served at parties. They are characterized by their individual size, soft or creamy texture, and strong flavors—usually made with condensed milk, coconut, chocolate, or peanuts.

[12] Luís da Câmara Cascudo, História da Alimentação no Brasil, 4th ed. (Global Editora, 2004).

[13] Gianluca Donadini, Maria Daria Fumi, and Milena Lambri, “A Preliminary Study Investigating Consumer Preference for Cheese and Beer Pairings,” Food Quality and Preference 30 (2012): 217–228, https://doi.org/10.1016/j. foodqual.2013.05.012; Thomas F. Lüscher, “Wine, Chocolate, and Coffee: Forbidden Joys?,” European Heart Journal 42 (2021): 4520–4522, https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehab654; Charles Spence, “Multisensory Flavour Perception: Blending, Mixing, Fusion, and Pairing Within and Between the Senses,” Foods 9, no. 4 (2020): 407.

[14] “Milk” was excluded because it was already present in milky coffee beverages, and “plain cake” was omitted because “cake” alone was considered sufficient to represent that category.

We hope you are as excited as we are about the release of 25, Issue 24. This issue of 25 is made possible with the contributions of specialty coffee businesses who support the activities of the Specialty Coffee Association through its underwriting and sponsorship programs. Learn more about our underwriters here.

Communications expert and researcher DANIEL MURAGA shares insights into Kenya’s domestic specialty coffee consumption, tracing how migration, economic shifts, and urbanization have fueled a dynamic local café and roasting scene, blurring the distinction between “producing country” and “consuming country.”

Introduction by LAUREL CARMICHAEL, SCA Publications Manager

The coffee sector has conventionally been perceived as a linear chain, with “producing countries” at the beginning and “consuming” countries at the end. However, these binary definitions have become increasingly inaccurate, prompting us to search for terminology that better captures the realities of where coffee is consumed and by whom. When the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) created the Coffee Systems Map in 2020, a major motivation was to show that coffee isn’t transformed from seed to cup in a linear chain. Instead, coffee is part of a dynamic system where activities happen simultaneously—and coffee doesn’t always need to leave the country where it’s produced to be valued.

In 2020, Vera Espíndola Rafael wrote a report titled “A Business Case to Increase Specialty Coffee Consumption in Producing Countries.”[1] Looking at case studies of Colombia, Brazil, and Rwanda, she sought to answer the question: how can producing countries capture a larger share of coffee’s total value? She noted that traditionally the “trends of consumption and the value of coffee have been defined outside the formal borders of producing countries,” meaning that coffee producers (and the actors who work alongside them before coffee is exported) are vulnerable to external forces, such as currency fluctuations, international shipping prices, and consumption trends in geographically distant markets.

In the following feature, Daniel Muraga illustrates how coffee professionals in and around Nairobi are capitalizing on the proximity of coffee production to urban centers to build a similarly diverse coffee economy. He notes that, while some inspiration for Kenya’s specialty café scene came from international influence, the scene is being strengthened from within, based on increasing pride in coffee as both cultural connector and economic force.

In “A Business Case to Increase Specialty Coffee Consumption in Producing Countries,” Espíndola Rafael argues that there are four key pillars required to build a domestic coffee consumption scene that has a positive impact on rural economies. These include economic and social stability for consumers, financial structures to support small and medium enterprises (such as local roasteries), creating a program for the promotion of coffee consumption, and investments in education, training, and knowledge development.

Muraga’s article mentions at least three of these pillars as driving a flourishing café scene in Nairobi. While he clarifies that Kenya’s specialty scene is “just getting started,” his writing makes me optimistic about a scene that can foster enjoyment, social connection, and perhaps a more equitable distribution of coffee’s value.

While most of the coffee grown in Kenya is exported for foreign exchange, a new wave of local appreciation is brewing, and domestic consumption is on the rise.

This growth is fueled by factors such as increasing disposable incomes, a cultural shift away from tea, greater public awareness driven by marketing and education initiatives, and reforms to the coffee sector. Consequently, Kenya is seeing a blossoming of cafés and coffee retail stores, as well as increased availability and popularity of specialty coffee, with a focus on espresso, manual-brewing, and flavored-coffee signature drinks.

Kenya has traditionally been characterized as a “producing” rather than a “consuming” coffee nation. In fact, Kenya is the fifth-largest coffee producer in Africa, producing 48,648 metric tons in the 2022/23 financial year.[2] According to the Kenya Investment Authority,[3] the coffee market was valued at about US$1.61 billion in 2023 and is estimated to reach US$2.4 billion by 2033. As a developing nation with agriculture as the economic backbone, 95% of the coffee produced in Kenya is exported, while just 5% is consumed locally. However, local coffee consumption is gradually increasing. The United States Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS) projects a 6.9% increase in domestic coffee consumption to 62,000 bags in the marketing year (MY) 2025/26, alongside an expected 10% growth in exports to 840,000 bags over the same period.[4]

“Nairobi’s coffee café culture is growing fast and becoming more vibrant,” Felix Ouma, the 2025 Kenya Barista Champion and Head of Roasting at Fairchain Coffee Kenya tells us. He adds: “We’re seeing more specialty coffee shops opening up, especially in places like Lavington, Kilimani, and Westlands.” He notes that the younger generation are especially curious and open to trying methods like pour-overs and cold brew but are also visiting cafés for “the full experience, quality brews, good vibes, and a place to connect.” He comments that “it’s exciting to see how Nairobi is slowly building a strong and unique coffee identity.”

Coffee Background in Kenya

Kenya’s coffee history is deeply intertwined with its history as a British colony. Despite bordering Ethiopia—an epicenter of coffee history—the plant was introduced to Kenya much later, imported from Brazil by missionaries in 1893. In the colonial system, coffee was one of many plants that were only cultivated by the white settlers, with locals providing cheap or forced labor.[6]

The 1923 Devonshire White Paper Report brought a marginal shift, permitting a select few Kenyans to cultivate a limited number of coffee trees. However, these growers were forbidden from producing coffee for consumption; all coffee was mandated for processing at central mills, with the highest grades earmarked exclusively for export. This policy ensured that generations of Kenyans were systematically denied the opportunity to experience the celebrated sensory qualities of their own country’s coffee. Lydia Nabulumbi, Head of Quality and Certifications at Fairchain Kenya, shares that an overwhelmingly large proportion of quality Kenyan coffee was exported to different parts of the world, with only a miniscule proportion (of usually lower-quality coffee) kept for domestic consumption. 

Post-independence in 1963, the new government imposed further restrictions on coffee cultivation and trade, a policy that hampered the sector’s growth for decades. Gradual coffee reforms over the last two decades have meant that Kenyan coffee growers have more freedom to experiment with different varieties and processing methods and participate in the coffee value chain in multiple capacities. According to the New Kenya Planters Cooperative Union, as of 2025 there are approximately 4,000 coffee estates, 550 coffee cooperatives, and 800,000 smallholder farmers in Kenya.[7] This has laid the foundation for local consumption. According to the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA), domestic consumption of coffee increased by 19% from 1,722 metric tons in 2021/22 to 2,051 metric tons in 2022/23 financial year (see figure 1).[8]

“Over the past decade, Nairobi has seen a coffee culture boom,” shares Dorcas Mutavi, the Sales Manager at Jowam Coffee Roasters in Kenya. “Once focused on export, coffee is now a key part of urban social life.” She adds that Nairobi has witnessed a rapid rise in cafés that focus on local sourcing, fueled by a growing middle-class and youth interest in specialty coffee. She observes that government and private initiatives in universities have also encouraged domestic consumption, making coffee a more central part of everyday life in Nairobi.

Local Coffee-Drinking Scene in Kenya

The trajectory of Kenya’s coffee scene has been significantly shaped by established brands such as Artcaffé, Dormans, Java House, and Connect Coffee. Notably, Dormans became Kenya’s first coffee roaster in 1950, introducing roasted coffee to the country. These influential brands have increasingly embraced products and experiences associated with specialty coffee, such as offering single-origin lots and a range of brewing methods. This concerted effort has fostered a vibrant café culture, and today the words “roasted at origin” are now a common feature on coffee retail bags.

Alongside domestic trailblazers, international coffee trends have also inspired local entrepreneurs to make Kenyan coffee accessible domestically. Reflecting on the growth of coffee consumption in Kenya, Ritesh Doshi, the CEO of Spring Valley—a roastery established in a traditionally coffee-growing neighborhood of Nairobi—notes that “as more Kenyans traveled abroad, we kept asking, ‘Why are the best Kenyan coffees only available abroad?’ And that’s why we decided to make the most exciting Kenyan coffees available at home for other Kenyans to enjoy as well.”

Spring Valley Coffee now has eight cafés across Nairobi (with one more under construction) and recently opened its first international café in London. Like most other modern coffee roasteries and outlets in Nairobi, it supplies coffee to hotels and restaurants. It also has coffee available to buy from leading premium grocery and retail stores across Kenya. Spring Valley’s growth is not unique. The number of coffee shops in Kenya increased from 231 in 2019 to 791 in 2023,[9] demonstrating that local customer demand for coffee is intensifying. Specialty cafés have also grown beyond Nairobi and its surrounds. On the Kenyan island of Lamu, Vava Angwenyi is the proprietor of the café and coffee school La Dulce Toro, and Stephen E. Vick founded Bahari Coffee. Both establishments offer high-quality Kenyan coffee to the local and tourist community.

Fenkil Asghedom Kahsay, the CEO and Founder of Fenkil Empire Ltd (Kesh Kesh Coffee Roasters, see figure 2), notes that Nairobi’s cosmopolitan culture was influential on specialty coffee developing a local presence. “Kenya is home to many corporate and foreign companies, embassies, IT nomads, the UN, and other organizations that understand the value of specialty coffee,” he shares. However, although international visitors and diverse residents shaped the scene initially, there has been a strong local embrace of specialty coffee. “Our middle-class and young Kenyans have a very quick and strong culture of adopting and discovering new products or services. The more demand, the more quality and valuable supply to the market,” he says.

The coffee scene in Nairobi and its surrounds is flourishing and diversifying beyond coffee shops. The city is situated at an altitude of over 1,700 meters above sea level, and coffee grows on the city’s doorstep. Coffee farms, for instance, are increasingly curating immersive experiences designed to educate urban dwellers on the journey “from seed to cup,” thereby improving awareness and creating new value-generating opportunities.  They are offering coffee farm visits and tasting tours for the people in urban centers to understand the process from the farm to their coffee cups. For example, Karunguru Coffee Estate and Fairview Coffee Estate in Kiambu, on the outskirts of Nairobi, offer farm tours, nature walks, birdwatching, factory visits, and tasting opportunities, fostering a deeper understanding of coffee and its role in the local environment and economy.

Urbanization and Perceived Value of Specialty Coffee

The close proximity of coffee farms to urban centers, while fostering a vital connection between producers and consumers, also presents challenges. The very urbanization that facilitates immersive farm visits and shortens the supply chain simultaneously introduces considerable pressure on the agricultural land crucial for coffee production. As Nabulumbi shares: “Farms are increasingly being replaced by urban landscapes, such as residential estates, shopping centers, and other infrastructure developments.” The FAS notes that the substitution of coffee plantations with housing was “rampant” in recent years, citing a drop in the area planted for coffee from 112,000 to 105,000 hectares in peri-urban areas of Nairobi, Thika, Kiambu, and Nyeri between 2020 and 2024.[10]

 While the FAS observe that the substitution of coffee plantations with housing has abated in 2025, the impact remains significant. Doshi notes that the regions of Kiambu, Thika, and Murang’a have been developing into the urban commuter belt of Nairobi, with coffee farms being sold off for housing, industrial, and commercial developments, meaning that coffee farming has seen a rapid decline in the towns surrounding Nairobi.

According to Mutavi, many coffee farms, especially near growing towns and cities, are being converted into residential and commercial developments. She says the shift is driven by factors such as declining profitability in coffee farming and the lure of real estate investments. While coffee cafés are increasing in urban areas, they often rely on imported beans as local production declines. She recommends a balance between urban growth and preservation of coffee farmland to ensure the future of Kenya’s coffee industry. However, she hails the local coffee-drinking culture for an increasing focus on quality and sustainability, as well as for opportunities to retain coffee’s value within Kenya.

Despite the trend, Nablumbi says, there are efforts to protect or revive coffee agriculture. Alongside the consumer-oriented farm tours, some estates are offering tours related to sustainability and business management (see figure 3). Local campaigns and county-level policies are starting to encourage sustainable coffee farming and protect agricultural land from total conversion. There is also a growing recognition that coffee farming is part of Kenya’s cultural heritage, not just an economic activity.

Crucially, efforts to retain value within Kenya’s coffee sector extend beyond agricultural land protection to encompass strategic investments in talent development and consumer awareness, largely driven by events and specialized training. Mutavi observes that the promotion of national coffee events like the Kenya Barista Championship by the Coffee Directorate and the private sector not only supports specialty coffee but also increases local awareness. Additionally, the establishment of coffee schools that train not only coffee baristas but also coffee cuppers (also known as liquorers, see figure 4) and agronomists also contributes to local coffee consumption. By equipping coffee professionals with technical knowledge and sensory skills, these programs foster a deeper appreciation for quality from seed to cup.

 “Young people are being introduced to coffee skills early, and some are even learning about coffee straight from high school,” Ouma, the national Barista Champion to represent Kenya in the 2025 World Barista Championships in Milan, Italy, tells us. He adds that more coffee is staying in the country as a result of value addition and local roasting, making it easier for Kenyans to enjoy and understand their coffee. He also notes that the introduction of diverse processing methods such as anaerobic fermentation, carbonic maceration, honey, and co-fermentation has added variety and excitement to the local coffee scene. According to Ouma, these innovative methods have expanded the flavor profiles available, attracting more interest and encouraging exploration among consumers, especially young people.

The Shift Has Already Started, and It’s Only Going to Grow Stronger

Increased domestic consumption in Kenya is blurring the binary labels of coffee-producing and coffee-consuming country. Local leaders in the coffee sector are optimistic. Nabulumbi thanks the rise in urban coffee culture and specialty coffee brands serving specialty and single-origin coffees for challenging the perception of Kenya as a producing-only country. She hopes to see more coffee education through barista training schools, public coffee events, and certifications to expand access to coffee knowledge. Farmers, baristas, and everyday consumers, she believes, should learn more about tasting and coffee value and should discuss coffee more deeply.

Ouma sees Kenya making big strides in domestic coffee consumption in the next five years. With more young people being introduced to coffee skills early and the rise of local cafés and roasters, coffee is becoming part of everyday life, not just an export product. More people will be drinking and appreciating Kenyan coffee locally, exploring different brewing methods, and supporting local baristas and producers. The shift has already started, and it is only going to grow stronger.

Mutavi believes Kenya’s coffee industry holds immense potential not just as a global exporter but also as a vibrant local market. Strengthening the domestic coffee culture through education, innovation, and sustainable practices will be key to unlocking this potential. She welcomes collaborations and conversations that help grow Kenya’s specialty coffee scene, connecting producers, roasters, and consumers in ways that foster sustainability, equity, and appreciation for Kenyan coffee. For Kahsay, young farmers are embracing new agronomy and processing practices. He would like to see them equipped and empowered with knowledge and technologies in farming, roasting, retailing, and consuming.

For Doshi, local consumption is a significant positive. It means that coffee professionals can move from solely export-oriented activities to also enjoying coffee close to home. However, there is room for growth. Doshi notes that “while Kenya’s coffee consumption will continue to increase, we expect most of this to occur at the entry levels of coffee; soluble to begin with, then with large quantities of milk and sugar, and then slowly up the quality curve.”

Doshi’s observations highlight the value of locally led education initiatives for coffee professionals and consumers. As educators increase domestic awareness of Kenyan coffee’s world-famous attributes—including bright acidity and flavor complexity—the perceived value of coffee within the country is rising. This, in turn, is inspiring innovation in the roast and retail sectors, and contributing to a diverse economy around coffee, such as bio-tourism in the coffee farms that border Nairobi. As urbanization blurs the boundaries between Nairobi’s cityscape and coffee farms, local consumers are helping to redefine Kenya’s reputation as an exclusively exporting country, ultimately retaining more opportunities and value within the domestic market. ◊

DANIEL MURAGA (he/him) is a communications expert, researcher, writer, and editor based in Kenya with over 10 years of experience in the industry. His mission is to highlight Africa’s contributions to the realms of science, technology, innovation, culture, food, and related fields.

References

[1] Vera Espíndola Rafael, “A Business Case to Increase Specialty Coffee Consumption in Producing Countries” (IDB Lab, Specialty Coffee Association, Hivos SAFE Platform, May 2020), https://bit.ly/domestic-consumption-2020-EN.

[2] Statista Research Department, Kenya: Production Of Coffee 2015–2023, Statista (June 3, 2025), https://www.statista.com/statistics/1206562/production-volume-of-coffee-in-kenya/.

[3] Kenya Investment Authority (KenInvest), Coffee (April 15, 2025), https://www.investkenya.go.ke/coffee/.

[4] United States Foreign Agricultural Service and Global Agricultural Information Network, “Coffee Annual: Kenya” (May 15, 2025), https://apps.fas.usda.gov/newgainapi/api/Report/DownloadReportByFileName?.

[5] Agriculture and Food Authority Kenya, “2024: Year Book of Statistics” (2024), https://www.afa.go.ke/download/2044/?tmstv=1736318020.

[6] Richard Wanzala, Nyankomo W. Marwa, and Elizabeth L. Nanzin, “Historical Analysis of Coffee Production and Associated Challenges in Kenya from 1893 to 2018,” Southern Journal for Contemporary History 47, no. 2 (December 2022): 51, https://doi.org/10.38140/sjch.v47i2.6200.

[7] New Kenya Planters Cooperative Union, accessed July 7, 2025,

https://www.newkpcuplc.go.ke/about-coffee.

[8]  Agriculture and Food Authority Kenya, Charting the Path Towards a Sustainable Coffee Sub-Sector in Kenya, accessed July 9, 2025, https://www.afa.go.ke/updates/charting-the-path-towards-a-sustainable-coffee-sub-sector-in-kenya/.

[9] Agriculture and Food Authority Kenya, Charting the Path Towards a Sustainable Coffee Sub-Sector in Kenya.

[10] United States Foreign Agricultural Service and Global Agricultural Information Network, “Coffee Annual: Kenya.”

We hope you are as excited as we are about the release of 25, Issue 24. This issue of 25 is made possible with the contributions of specialty coffee businesses who support the activities of the Specialty Coffee Association through its underwriting and sponsorship programs. Learn more about our underwriters here.

Writer and anthropologist ALEXA ROMANO and researcher and strategist VERA ESPÍNDOLA RAFAEL draw on two intentional dialogues, held at the Women-Powered Coffee Summit in 2024, to look at the value of dialogue to understand the needs and realities of coffee producers, particularly women.

Introduction by ANDRÉS MONTENEGRO, SCA Sustainability Director
“Dialogue,” David Bohm once wrote, “is a stream of meaning flowing among and through us.” It is not merely a conversation; it is a shared inquiry into how we see, think, and act together. In the global coffee sector—where decisions often orbit far from the realities of those who grow coffee—such inquiry feels both urgent and transformative.

In this article of 25, Alexa Romano and Vera Espíndola Rafael take us to the edges of the system. Through their reflections on two dialogues held in Mexico in 2024, they remind us that deep change rarely begins at the center. It often emerges at the margins of decision-making power in the sector—where producers, especially women, share lived knowledge and strategies for sustaining coffee itself, even as the systems around them fail to recognize their centrality in every link of the value chain.

These dialogues were not advocacy activities; they were spaces for surfacing what lies beneath the visible structures of our sector. Like the iceberg model suggests,[1] most of what shapes our systems—assumptions, values, cultural norms—remains out of sight. In these spaces, producers spoke in ways that made those hidden structures feel tangible. Their words reflected not only the inequities of power but also the possibilities of reclaiming it.

This resonates deeply with Martha Nussbaum’s capabilities approach: that true empowerment comes not from being granted a voice, but from recognizing one’s own value and agency. It echoes the notion of development as freedom—the expansion of real opportunities to live lives one has reason to value. Here, knowledge is not a tool of domination; it is a pathway to choice.

 As both authors show us, such knowledge is both personal and collective. It invites us to move beyond transactional views of value and toward a shared value ecosystem—one that recognizes wisdom in relationships, land, and community. In these edges of dialogue, we catch a glimpse of a coffee sector capable of listening with humility, confronting its hidden structures, and co-creating futures where every voice helps to shape the whole. For the Specialty Coffee Association, this work sits at the heart of our Equitable Value Distribution agenda—an ongoing effort to make those voices integral to how value is defined and shared across our industry. Enjoy the reading and get inspiration to make coffee better, for all.

“We’re not supposed to be here.” The quiet comment, made by a group of coffee producers,[2] as they entered a room filled with sector professionals, captured more than a moment of uncertainty. It reflected a deeper, structural truth.

In the global coffee industry, those who cultivate the product often sit furthest from where decisions are made. Yet these producers came to speak—not to be spoken for. As one producer put it: “Coffee unites us, it is our language.  For us, the main strategy is coffee. Together we are stronger.”

These reflections emerged from a workshop on equitable value distribution at the 2024 Women-Coffee Powered Summit in Córdoba, Veracruz, Mexico. Attended by over 70 participants worldwide and facilitated in Spanish (day one) and English (day two), the workshop used a dialogue format inspired by the World Café method.[3] Participants worked in small groups to discuss and present on two key questions: How does gender inequality affect value distribution in the coffee sector? And, how can we better support women to make the coffee sector more equitable?

Both dialogues underscored a profound truth: language extends beyond the verbal; it encompasses cultural and historical contexts, gender dynamics, and power hierarchies that influence who feels empowered to speak and participate. For some, the workshops were a moment of reckoning with what it means to be in “the wrong room,” a space where language and power dynamics can inhibit participation, or in the “right room,” where enough solidarity unites to reframe a dominant point of view.

In the first session, the largest professional cohort comprised self-identified coffee producers from Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Colombia. In contrast to other settings where producers are often spoken “for” or “about,” their voices became the most vocal as they shared stories and strategies. They spoke on many topics, from how tools are made for men’s bodies to how finances are handled without transparency, and how women work alongside their families but are rarely valued for their work. “We have always been here,” one producer said, “but it’s like we’re not in the picture.” These discussions weren’t just about representation; they challenged deeper assumptions: what does value mean for them, who defines it, and how is it distributed? Women producers spoke of their work as being invisible—not because they were silent, but perhaps because the system wasn’t designed to hear them.

The second session, attended by a host of coffee professionals, including roasters, baristas, importers, and producers, took a distinctly different tone to the first. The dialogue focused on broader systems, examining structural barriers and outlining strategies for building a more equitable coffee sector. Participants unpacked issues including wage disparities and lack of gender-equity data.

As attendees ourselves, we felt the dialogues brought to the surface tensions and topics that reflect wider challenges in the coffee sector. We are not coffee producers, but we carry the same conviction: coffee producers—especially women—belong at the center of industry conversations. It’s tempting to believe that across the industry we’re all part of the same discussion, but when reflecting on these dialogues we asked: Are we even starting from the same page? Or from the same language of value?

Rooted in our shared Mexican heritage—our families, language, and the stories that tie us to this region—and shaped by years of listening to and walking alongside farming communities, we’ve come to see just how much knowledge exists outside traditional spaces, and how often that wisdom is overlooked. We wrote this piece, not to speak for anyone, but as an attempt to carry producer voices further, inviting others to build connections and understanding of their sentiments, knowledge, and strategies.

Language and Participation

Discussions in coffee often begin with translation, but language is never only vocabulary. Translation can never provide pure meaning because languages are never equivalent to each other.[4] Language is cultural, emotional, and relational; it shapes and is shaped by “ways of being.”[5]

“Ways of being” are lived realities that form the foundation for how producers relate to their work, their communities, and one another. Language itself, and the language of experience, then, is limited to those who share it. This is where the concept of structures of feeling becomes useful.[6] It refers to the intangible—yet powerful—emotional and social elements that shape how people perceive and respond to the world around them. These structures aren’t intellectual positions or conscious beliefs; they are felt truths, shaped through daily realities. This manifested in a sense of solidarity in the Spanish-language workshop. As one producer noted, “coffee unites us; it connects us to other parts of the world. Coffee is our language.”

Yet, producers’ language and voices often go unrecognized in global coffee spaces where fluency in English, or alignment with industry jargon, is often equated with authority. As a result, the terms of participation in coffee discourse often privilege one form of knowledge expression, limiting whose voices are heard, how value is defined, and what is considered “professional.”

A translation can lead to different interpretations of words, intent, and relevance. One participant noted, “it feels like we’re all speaking the same language—like we’re already in agreement.” But this felt more like a presumption than an objective truth. Even when women producers were centered in the room, assumptions around language, expertise, and perspective influenced who felt included and who didn’t.

In the English-language dialogue, a group of producers sat at a table together and chose to approach the question prompts differently to most of the group. Instead of zooming out and discussing structural inequities, they leaned into exchanges that felt immediate and practical: comparing cherry prices, discussing harvest timelines, and sharing insights from Costa Rica to Veracruz and Oaxaca in Mexico. Their participation was rooted by centering their lived knowledge and creating space for peer-to-peer dialogue. They redefined what contribution looked like in that room. It was an unspoken assertion that expertise exists not only in sweeping statements and metrics, but in the daily realities of those who grow coffee.

The ability to communicate in English, or in a professionalized development language, often determines whose stories are heard and whose strategies are taken seriously. The centering of producer dialogue doesn’t suggest that producers are the only voices that matter—equity requires many voices—but it recognizes that many producers’ participation often requires leaving behind farms and families, navigating unfamiliar settings, and speaking into rooms where their presence hasn’t always been accommodated. This circumstance underscores how participation itself becomes an act of courage and assertion. One participant put it: “Te están volviendo visible en un sector donde normalmente no lo eres.”[7]

While this invisibility often intersects with gender, it is not confined to it. Producers of all identities have felt the exclusion of being spoken about, rather than with. Bringing producers into view isn’t only a matter of representation, but is a deeper reordering of whose voice is central to the future of coffee.

Dominant definitions of expertise in the coffee sector are often shaped by institutional norms—fluency in so-called professional languages, familiarity with industry terms, or comfort in formal settings. Such expertise often implies that value lies in positionality and polished articulation, but such standards fail to recognize that not everyone, nor everything, comes from the same school of thought, economic background, and even language.[8] When producers choose to speak on their own terms and in their own rhythms, they are not stepping outside the dialogue, they are right in  the midst.

Social Capital, Power, and Empowerment

During the day one dialogue, the room filled with stories of land, labor, and legacy. A simple question echoed: “How many of you women feel that you are being considered?” The answers exposed the central tension in discussions of power: the often-invisible struggle for recognition, agency, and voice. We perceive power as having the ability, the choice, the position to make decisions that best suit one’s own interests.

These discussions highlighted that power, particularly for producers, is not merely authoritative or top-down. Instead, it moves laterally—through shared labor, mutual trust, and the capacity to mobilize community toward collective goals. In this way, power takes form as a social capital—the power derived from relationships, networks of influence, and support. Social capital lives in a web of mutual care and knowledge exchange that producers maintain—often in spite of their limited access to formal power structures.[9] As one participant explained, “Having spaces for containment, networking, building, and mutual support is important—but also about how we feel, how we can seek alternatives, and how we can support each other.” The act of coming together itself became a source of power—but also a reframing of power itself.    

Ideas flowed—from practical innovations to calls for transparency and recognition of household labor. In these spaces, knowledge became more than information; it became empowerment. Power wasn’t just having a voice, but the ability to recognize, claim, and value one’s  own work.

If power in the form of social capital can be viewed in relation to another, then empowerment comes from within. Producers made clear that empowerment is not external. “Empowerment means understanding one’s own value. I believe that no one else will come to give you a place that you don’t give yourself, right?” This distinction between having power and being empowered is critical: empowerment arises not from being granted authority, but from cultivating self-worth—often recognized collectively. 

The dialogues showed that empowerment, particularly gender equity, isn’t just about visibility; it’s about using dialogue to create opportunities for actual and tangible decision-making power. These dialogues, held in a dedicated space, allowed producers to redefine their own terms of engagement and speak freely about their experiences. As one producer noted: “There are many women here today, which is wonderful because we’re not with our husbands thinking, ‘Can I speak or not?’ We can express ourselves here.” In this understanding, empowerment is not about gaining access to the table within conventional spaces, but challenging the hierarchies and cultural and language norms in spaces of authority. The ability to speak arose not only from the concentration of producers and coffee professionals in the same room, but from a shared sentiment that being unseen and unheard has nothing to do with being without value.

Community: Hacer Comunidad

One of the clearest contrasts between the two sessions was how each group understood community—comunidad. For many producers, community isn’t a context; it is through community that identity, labor, and coffee are understood. As one producer reflected, “Es parte de la vida—community is the school, is the family, is the workplace, is the social unit. It is who we are.”

Coffee, for many producers, is an inheritance. Their personal and professional lives are entwined with family and place. In contrast, many participants from the second session—including roasters, traders, and other professionals from consuming countries—spoke of “community” as a professional space within more defined boundaries. Their relationship with coffee allowed for separation between work and personal life, a flexibility that producers often do not have. When dialogue spaces are grounded in a shared reality reflecting producers’ sense of communidad, they serve as expressive outlets for speaking from deeply personal and context-rich perspectives.

The phrase somos comunidad—we are a community—reflected this ethos. In the first dialogue, one producer noted that “shared value means everyone wins—men win, women win, the community wins.” Another continued: “There’s a lot of work ahead—raising awareness, changing household roles, but also informing men, generating culture, and fostering collaboration. We are all important.”

Discussions also focused on convivencia—the celebration and sharing of time together.[10] Participants emphasized the importance of mutual support: “Here we can talk about how we feel, how we can seek alternatives, and how we can support each other.” There was an emphasis on personal development leading to collective benefit: “First, there is the individual. We need to change from within, starting with the family. Beyond everything, there is the collective, and there are no differences there.” This sharing demonstrates the process of growth that happens in relationships, emphasizing that the “community takes care” rather than serving individual interests or existing as a mere professional grouping.

Hacer comunidad (to make community) means to lean into collective approaches: sharing knowledge, distributing value, and respecting the land. Unlike other forms of entrepreneurship that prioritize profit, smallholder coffee production cannot be measured by return on investment alone. Coffee follows, but community comes first. We chose to share the Spanish words convivencia and hacer comunidad because “community” in English doesn’t quite hold the same weight. These terms carried the emotional texture—care, collective aspiration, and belonging—that producers themselves expressed throughout the first day’s dialogue.

Invisible Work, Unequal Worth

If language reveals who is heard, and how concepts like “community” are defined, labor reveals who is valued. In coffee, that value is not solely defined at the cupping table or in contracts—it starts at home with the often-unseen labor of farming families, especially women. Yet this work remains under-acknowledged in farm economics, the supply chain, and decision-making spaces. Failing to account for this labor—often unpaid, often gendered—reinforces a system that sees farmers not as full economic actors, but as invisible laborers. “Without knowing the real cost, there’s no clarity,” one participant noted, and no foundation for equity.

Behind every calculation lies something deeper: the recognition of labor, knowledge, and dignity. But too often, producers’ knowledge is dismissed as informal or insufficient, simply because it doesn’t come wrapped in industry jargon or formal education. This quiet discrimination—epistemic injustice—denies producers the legitimacy to define value on their own terms.[11]

Reclaiming the Voices that Carry Value

Though the sessions were framed around gender, the most powerful reflections didn’t center gender directly. They surfaced in stories of labor, land, and recognition. They revealed that gender—like value—is layered, shaped by context, and resistant to simplification.

In returning to the room, we don’t land on answers so much as we reframe the questions. Value, like gender, cannot be imposed. What emerged was this: Producers are already defining value through their actions, relationships, and strategies. They don’t need to be “included”; they need to be heard on their own terms. Yet even more, what is of value, as expressed in word or action by producers, doesn’t need to have a place in the same room: it needs to be actively part of the creation of dialogue surrounding values that moves coffee forward.

Female coffee professionals from producing countries aren’t just supply chain participants—they are themselves thinkers, strategists, and leaders. From deciding when to pick the cherries, how to ferment, or how much to sell (and to whom) to organizing household budgets and farm/café investments, women are already making critical decisions in coffee every day. Their experiences hold knowledge that’s both practical and visionary—about how to grow food, resist injustice, and envision better futures for their families. Solutions to inequality must be built with those who live it. This requires more than inclusion; it means creating spaces where women producers define the agenda—not just join the room. As one participant said, “We have to give ourselves that value and show people that we are indeed here, working. Here we are.”

There is value—economic, social, and cultural—in listening to the producers whose voices have long been sidelined in the coffee sector. These aren’t just stories of hardship, but reservoirs of lived expertise. By listening, we begin to shift who is seen as a source of knowledge in coffee. Recognizing that knowledge, power, and language come in many forms—lived, embodied, relational—is central to building a coffee sector that isn’t just equitable in theory, but in practice.

To listen to producers is not just to hear stories; it is to shift who is seen as a source of knowledge and change. The future of coffee will be determined not only by yield or price, but by whose voices we choose to center—particularly those who have long maintained the land and its coffee. ◊

ALEXA ROMANO is a writer and researcher specializing in anthropology and Latin American studies, with a focus on coffee, gender, and value.

VERA ESPÍNDOLA RAFAEL collaborates with coffee producers across Latin America, using economic analysis and value chain expertise to embed their voices in sourcing decisions and expand access to strategic markets.

References

[1] The Iceberg Model, rooted in Systems Thinking, is a diagnostic tool that helps us to understand systemic structures and to identify and prevent recurring problems. The model aims to look beyond visible behaviors and understand the underlying structures, paradigms of thought, and sources of inspiration that drive them. For more information see Presencing Institute Toolkit, “Tool: The Iceberg Model,” https://pi-2022.s3.amazonaws. com/PI_u_school_Tools_2_0_Iceberg_Model_542086fb6b.pdf.

[2] While we use the term “coffee producer” throughout the article, what we mean can’t be distilled into a singular definition. The term represents all those integrated in the production of coffee who embody the cyclical and ever-changing demands, responsibilities, and roles required within paid and unpaid work.

[3] The World Café, “Key Concepts and References,” https://theworldcafe.com/key-concepts-resources/world-cafe-method/.

[4] Karma Chávez, “Embodied Translation: Dominant Discourse and Communication with Migrants Bodies-as-Text,” in Dialogues Across Diasporas, edited by Marion Rohrleitner and Sarah Ryan (Lexington Books, 2013).

[5] Pierre Bourdieu, “Habitus and Social Practice,” in Outline of a Theory of Practice, trans. Richard Nice (Cambridge University Press, 1977).

[6] Raymond Williams, Marxism and Literature (Oxford University Press, 1977).

[7] “You are being made visible in a sector where you normally are not.”

[8] Olumide Popoola, “In Tongues—The Trouble Inside Language,” in Dialogues Across Diasporas.

[9] Pierre Bourdieu, “The Forms of Capital,” in Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education, edited by John G. Richardson (Greenwood Press, 1986).

[10] Kerry Doyle and Gabriela Durán Barraza, “Luchando, Rimando, Sacando, Pintando: Young Female Artist Collectives in Ciudad Juárez,” in Dialogues Across Diasporas.

[11] Miranda Fricker, Epistemic Injustice: Power and the Ethics of Knowing (Oxford University Press, 2007).

We hope you are as excited as we are about the release of 25, Issue 24. This issue of 25 is made possible with the contributions of specialty coffee businesses who support the activities of the Specialty Coffee Association through its underwriting and sponsorship programs. Learn more about our underwriters here.

En la Women Powered Coffee Summit 2024 (WPCS) se llevaron a cabo dos diálogos que la escritora y antropóloga ALEXA ROMANO y la investigadora y estratega VERA ESPÍNDOLA RAFAEL retoman para reflexionar sobre el valor del diálogo en la comprensión de las realidades y necesidades de los productores de café, en particular de las mujeres.

“Creo que no nos toca estar aquí”, murmuró un grupo de productoras de café al entrar a un salón llena de profesionales del sector. La frase capturó más que un momento de incertidumbre: reflejaba una verdad estructural más profunda.

En la industria global del café, quienes cultivan el producto suelen estar más lejos de donde se toman las decisiones. Sin embargo, estas productoras[1] llegaron para hablar, no para que otros hablaran por ellas. Como dijo una productora: “El café nos une; es nuestro lenguaje. Para nosotras, la estrategia principal es el café y juntas somos más fuertes.”

Estas reflexiones surgieron en un taller del Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) dónde se conversó sobre la distribución equitativa del valor durante la WCPS 2024 en Córdoba, Veracruz, México. El taller, al que asistieron más de 70 participantes de distintos países y que se facilitó en español (el primer día) y en inglés (el segundo día), utilizó un formato de diálogo inspirado en la metodología World Café.[2] Los participantes trabajaron en pequeños grupos para debatir sobre dos preguntas clave: ¿Cómo afecta la desigualdad de género a la distribución del valor en el sector cafetalero? Y, ¿cómo podemos apoyar mejor a las mujeres para lograr que el sector del café sea más equitativo?

Ambos diálogos subrayaron una verdad profunda: el lenguaje va más allá de lo verbal; abarca contextos culturales e históricos, dinámicas de género y jerarquías de poder que influyen en quién se siente animado a hablar y participar. Para algunas personas, los talleres fueron un recordatorio crudo de lo que significa estar en “el salón equivocado”: un espacio donde el lenguaje y las dinámicas de poder limitan la voz y la presencia. Para otras, fue estar en “el salón correcto”: un lugar donde la solidaridad logra desafiar y reconfigurar un punto de vista dominante.

En la primera sesión, la mayoría de los participantes eran productoras de café de Colombia, Costa Rica, Honduras, y México. A diferencia de otros espacios donde a menudo se habla “por” o “sobre” los productores, aquí sus voces se volvieron las más presentes, compartiendo historias y estrategias. Hablaron de muchos temas: desde cómo las herramientas se diseñan para cuerpos masculinos, hasta cómo se manejan las finanzas sin transparencia y cómo las mujeres trabajan junto a sus familias, pero rara vez se les reconoce por su trabajo. “Siempre hemos estado aquí,” dijo una productora, “pero es como si no apareciéramos en la foto.” Estas discusiones no solo giraron en torno a la representación; cuestionaron supuestos más profundos: ¿qué significa el valor para ellas, quién lo define y cómo se distribuye? Las productoras hablaron de su trabajo como algo invisible—no porque guardaran silencio, sino quizás porque el sistema no está diseñado para escucharlas.

La segunda sesión, a la que asistió un grupo diverso de profesionales del café—incluyendo tostadores, baristas, importadores y productores—tomó un tono marcadamente distinto a la primera. El diálogo se centró en los sistemas más amplios, analizando barreras estructurales y delineando estrategias para construir un sector cafetero más equitativo. Los participantes abordaron obstáculos como las brechas salariales y la falta de datos sobre equidad de género.

Como participantes de este taller, sentimos que ambos diálogos sacaron a la superficie tensiones y temas que reflejan retos más amplios del sector. No somos productoras de café, pero estamos convencidas de lo mismo: los productores—especialmente las mujeres productoras—deben estar en el centro de las conversaciones de la industria. Es tentador pensar que en toda la industria hablamos de lo mismo, pero al reflexionar sobre estos diálogos surge la pregunta: ¿De verdad partimos de la misma base? ¿O incluso del mismo lenguaje de valor?

Escribimos este artículo no para hablar por ellos, sino como un intento de llevar más lejos las voces de las y los productores, invitando a otros a tejer vínculos y a comprender sus sentimientos, sabiduría y estrategias.

Lenguaje y Participación

Las conversaciones en el café suelen comenzar con traducciones, pero el lenguaje nunca es solo un vocabulario. Una traducción no puede ofrecer un significado “puro”, porque los idiomas nunca son equivalentes entre sí.[3] El lenguaje es cultural, emocional y relacional; moldea y es moldeado por las formas de ser. [4] Estas “formas de ser” son realidades vividas que constituyen la base de cómo las y los productores se relacionan con su trabajo, sus comunidades y entre sí. El lenguaje, y en particular el de la experiencia, está limitado a quienes lo comparten

Aquí es donde resulta útil el concepto de “formas de ser”:[5] porque se refiere a esos elementos intangibles pero poderosos, tanto emocionales como sociales, que moldean la manera en que las personas perciben y responden al mundo que las rodea. No son posturas intelectuales ni creencias conscientes; son verdades sentidas, forjadas en las realidades de cada día. Esto se hizo evidente en el sentimiento de solidaridad que surgió durante el taller en español. Como señaló una productora: “el café nos une; nos conecta con otras partes del mundo. El café es nuestro lenguaje.”

Sin embargo, el lenguaje y las voces de los productores suelen quedar fuera de los espacios globales del café, donde la fluidez en inglés o el manejo de lenguaje técnico del sector se confunden con autoridad. De este modo, las reglas implícitas de participación privilegian una sola manera de expresar el conocimiento, limitando qué voces se escuchan, cómo se define el valor y qué se considera “profesional”.

Una traducción puede llevar a distintas interpretaciones de las palabras, las intenciones y la relevancia. Una participante comentó: “Parece que todas hablamos el mismo idioma, como si ya estuviéramos de acuerdo.”. Pero en realidad era más una suposición que una certeza. Incluso cuando las productoras estaban en el centro de la conversación, las suposiciones sobre el idioma, la experiencia y la perspectiva influían en quién se sentía incluida y quién no.

En el diálogo en inglés, un grupo de productoras se sentó juntas en una mesa y decidió abordar las preguntas de un modo distinto al resto. En lugar de ampliar la conversación hacia las inequidades estructurales, se enfocaron en intercambios inmediatos y prácticos: comparando precios de café cereza, hablar sobre los tiempos de cosecha y compartir experiencias desde Costa Rica hasta Veracruz, y Oaxaca, México. Su participación se basó en centrar su conocimiento vivido y favorecer un diálogo basado en la experiencia compartida. Redefinieron lo que significaba “contribuir” en esa sala. Fue una afirmación no verbal ya que la experiencia no reside únicamente en grandes declaraciones y métricas, sino también en las realidades cotidianas de quienes cultivan café.

La capacidad de comunicarse en inglés, o en un lenguaje técnico propio del sector, a menudo determina qué historias se escuchan y qué estrategias se toman en serio. Centrar el diálogo en las y los productores no implica que sean las únicas voces que importan—la equidad requiere muchas voces—pero sí reconoce que, para muchos productores, participar implica dejar atrás las fincas y a sus familias, desenvolverse en entornos desconocidos y hablar en espacios donde su presencia no siempre ha sido acogida. Esta realidad subraya cómo la participación en sí misma se convierte en un acto de valentía y afirmación. Como señaló una participante: “Te están volviendo visible en un sector donde normalmente no lo eres.”

Aunque esta invisibilidad a menudo se cruza con el género, no se limita a él. Productores de todas las identidades han sentido la exclusión de que se hable sobre ellos, en lugar de con ellos. Visibilizarlos no es solo una cuestión de representación, sino una reorganización más profunda sobre de quién es la voz que debe estar al centro del futuro del café.

Las definiciones dominantes del “conocimiento especializado” en el sector cafetero suelen estar moldeadas por normas institucionales: el dominio de los llamados lenguajes profesionales, la familiaridad con términos de la industria o la fluidez en espacios formales. Estos estándares suponen que el valor está en la posición y en la sofisticación del discurso, sin reconocer que no todas las personas, ni todos los saberes, nacen de la misma escuela, del mismo contexto económico o del mismo idioma.[6] Cuando las y los productores hablan en sus propios términos y ritmos, no están al margen: están en el verdadero centro del diálogo.

Capital Social, Poder y Empoderamiento

Durante el diálogo del primer día, el salón se llenó de historias sobre la tierra, el trabajo y el legado. Una pregunta sencilla resonó: “¿Cuántas de ustedes sienten que están siendo tomadas en cuenta?” Las respuestas evidenciaron la tensión central en torno al poder: la lucha, a menudo invisible, por el reconocimiento, la autonomía y la voz propia. Entendemos el poder como la capacidad, la opción y la posición para tomar decisiones que mejor respondan a los propios intereses.

Estas conversaciones evidenciaron que el poder, especialmente para las productoras, no es meramente autoritario o de arriba hacia abajo. Más bien, se mueve de manera lateral: a través del trabajo compartido, la confianza mutua y la capacidad de movilizar a la comunidad hacia objetivos colectivos. De esta forma, el poder toma forma como capital social: la fuerza que se deriva de las relaciones, de las redes de influencia y de apoyo. El capital social vive en una red de cuidado mutuo e intercambio de conocimientos que las productoras sostienen—muchas veces a pesar de su acceso limitado a las estructuras formales de poder.[7] Como explicó una participante: “Tener espacios de apoyo, de creación de redes, de construcción y ayuda mutua es importante, pero también se trata de cómo nos sentimos, de cómo podemos buscar alternativas y de cómo podemos apoyarnos.” El simple hecho de reunirse se convirtió en una fuente de poder—pero también en una forma de replantear el concepto mismo de poder.

Las ideas fluyeron—desde innovaciones prácticas hasta llamados a la transparencia y al reconocimiento del trabajo en el hogar. En estos espacios, el conocimiento dejó de ser solo información: se convirtió en empoderamiento. El poder no consistía únicamente en tener una voz, sino en la capacidad de reconocer, reclamar y valorar el trabajo propio.

Si el poder, en forma de capital social, puede entenderse en relación con otras personas, entonces el empoderamiento surge desde dentro. Las productoras dejaron claro que el empoderamiento no es externo. “Empoderarse significa entender el propio valor de uno. Yo creo que nadie va a venir a darte un lugar que tú misma no te des, ¿cierto?” Esta distinción entre tener poder y estar empoderada es fundamental: el empoderamiento no nace de que alguien te otorgue autoridad, sino de cultivar la autoestima—muchas veces reconocida de manera colectiva.

Los diálogos mostraron que el empoderamiento, particularmente en materia de equidad de género, no se trata solo de visibilidad; se trata de usar el diálogo para crear oportunidades reales y tangibles de participación en la toma de decisiones. Estos diálogos, realizados en un espacio pensado para ello, permitieron que las productoras redefinieran sus propios términos de participación y hablaran libremente sobre sus experiencias. Como señaló una productora: “Hoy hay muchas mujeres aquí, lo cual es maravilloso porque no estamos con nuestros esposos pensando: ¿Podré hablar o no?’ Aquí sí podemos expresarnos.” En este sentido, el empoderamiento no consiste únicamente en obtener un asiento en la mesa dentro de los espacios convencionales, sino en desafiar las jerarquías y las normas culturales y lingüísticas en los espacios de autoridad. La posibilidad de hablar surgió no solo de reunir en un mismo lugar a productores y profesionales del café, sino también de un sentimiento compartido de que estar fuera de la vista y no ser escuchada no significa carecer de valor.

Comunidad: Hacer Comunidad

Uno de los contrastes más claros entre las dos sesiones fue cómo cada grupo entendía el concepto de la comunidad. Para muchas productoras, la comunidad no es un simple contexto; es a través de la comunidad que se comprenden la identidad, el trabajo y el café. Como reflexionó una productora: “Es parte de la vida: la comunidad es la escuela, es la familia, es el lugar de trabajo, es la unidad social. Es lo que somos.”

Para muchos productores, el café es una herencia. Sus vidas personales y profesionales están profundamente entrelazadas con la familia y el territorio. En cambio, la mayoría de los participantes de la segunda sesión hablaron de “comunidad” como un espacio profesional con límites más definidos. Su relación con el café permitía separar la vida laboral de la personal, una flexibilidad que los productores muchas veces no tienen. Cuando los espacios de diálogo se fundamentan en una realidad compartida que refleja el sentido de comunidad de los productores, se convierten en lugares donde es posible expresarse desde perspectivas íntimas y profundamente contextuales.

La frase “somos comunidad” reflejaba este espíritu. En el primer diálogo, una productora señaló que “valor compartido significa que todos ganamos: ganan los hombres, ganan las mujeres, gana la comunidad”. Otra añadió: “Hay mucho trabajo por delante: generar conciencia, cambiar los roles en el hogar, pero también informar a los hombres, generar cultura y fomentar la colaboración. Todas y todos somos importantes”.

Las conversaciones también se centraron en la convivencia—la celebración y el compartir tiempo juntas.[8] Las participantes destacaron la importancia del apoyo mutuo: “Aquí podemos hablar de cómo nos sentimos, de cómo podemos buscar alternativas y de cómo podemos apoyarnos.” Hubo un énfasis en el desarrollo personal como punto de partida para el beneficio colectivo: “Primero está la persona. Necesitamos cambiar desde adentro, empezando por la familia. Más allá de todo, está lo colectivo, y ahí no hay diferencias.” Este acto de compartir demuestra el proceso de crecimiento que se da en las relaciones, resaltando que “la comunidad cuida” más que servir a intereses individuales o existir únicamente como un grupo profesional.

“Hacer comunidad” significa apostar por enfoques colectivos: compartir conocimientos, distribuir el valor y respetar la tierra. A diferencia de otras formas de emprendimiento que priorizan la ganancia, la producción de café a pequeña escala no puede medirse solo por el retorno de inversión. Primero está la comunidad, y después el café. En el artículo en inglés decidimos conservar en español las palabras “convivencia” y “hacer comunidad,” porque “community” en inglés no alcanza a transmitir el mismo peso. Estos términos encierran una textura emocional—cuidado, aspiración colectiva y sentido de pertenencia—que las productoras hicieron palpable a lo largo del diálogo del primer día.

Trabajo Invisible, Valor Desigual

Si el lenguaje nos dice quién puede ser escuchado y cómo se entienden conceptos como “comunidad,” el trabajo nos deja ver quién es realmente valorado.

En el café, ese valor no se decide únicamente en la mesa de catación o en los contratos: comienza en casa, con el trabajo—a menudo invisible—de las familias productoras, y de manera muy marcada, de las mujeres. Sin embargo, este trabajo sigue sin reconocerse en la economía de la finca, en la cadena de suministro ni en los espacios de toma de decisiones. No contabilizar este trabajo—frecuentemente no remunerado y marcado por el género—refuerza un sistema que ve a los productores no como actores económicos plenos, sino como mano de obra invisible. “Sin conocer el costo real, no hay claridad,” señaló una participante, y sin claridad, no hay bases para la equidad.

Detrás de cada cálculo hay algo más profundo: el reconocimiento del trabajo, del conocimiento y de la dignidad. Sin embargo, con demasiada frecuencia, el saber de los productores se descarta como “informal” o insuficiente, simplemente porque no viene envuelto en lenguaje técnico ni respaldado por una educación formal. Esta forma silenciosa de discriminación—una injusticia epistémica—les niega la legitimidad de definir el valor en sus propios términos.[9]

Recuperando las Voces que Portan Valor

Aunque el taller se enmarcó en torno al género, las reflexiones más poderosas no se centraron directamente en ello. Surgieron en relatos sobre el trabajo, la tierra y el reconocimiento. Mostraron que el género—como el valor—es complejo, está moldeado por el contexto y resiste la simplificación.

Regresando a ese salón, no encontramos tantas respuestas como nuevas formas de plantear las preguntas. El valor, al igual que el género, no puede imponerse. Lo que quedó claro fue esto: las productoras ya están definiendo el valor con sus acciones, relaciones y estrategias. No necesitan ser “incluidas”; necesitan ser escuchados en sus propios términos. Y, más aún, lo que consideran valioso—expresado en palabras o acciones—no requiere simplemente “un lugar” en el mismo salón: debe integrarse de forma activa en la creación de un diálogo sobre valores que impulsen al café hacia adelante.

Las mujeres profesionales del café en países productores no solo participan en la cadena de suministro: son mentes críticas, estrategas y líderes. Desde decidir cuándo cosechar las cerezas, cómo fermentar o cuánto vender (y a quién), hasta organizar el presupuesto familiar y las inversiones de la finca o la cafetería, las mujeres ya están tomando decisiones críticas en el café cada día. Sus experiencias encierran conocimientos prácticos y visionarios—sobre cómo cultivar alimentos, resistir la injusticia y construir futuros mejores para sus familias. Las soluciones a la desigualdad deben construirse con quienes la viven. Esto exige más que inclusión: requiere crear espacios donde estas profesionales definan la agenda, no solo se unan a la conversación. Como dijo una participante: “Tenemos que darnos a nosotras mismas ese valor y mostrarle a la gente que sí estamos aquí, trabajando. Aquí estamos.”

Hay valor—económico, social y cultural—en escuchar a los productores cuyas voces han sido históricamente relegadas en el sector cafetalero. No se trata solo de historias de dificultad, sino de auténticos reservorios de saberes vividos. Al reconocer esas voces, comenzamos a transformar quién es visto como fuente de conocimiento en el café. Comprender que el conocimiento, el poder y el lenguaje adoptan múltiples formas—vividas, encarnadas, tejidas en las relaciones—es esencial para construir un sector que no solo sea justo en teoría, sino también en la práctica.

Escuchar a los productores no es solo oír relatos; es redefinir quién tiene legitimidad para generar conocimiento y crear cambios. El futuro del café no estará determinado solo por el rendimiento o el precio, sino por las voces que elijamos poner al centro—sobre todo las de quienes han cuidado la tierra y su café por generaciones. ◊

ALEXA ROMANO es escritora e investigadora especializada en antropología y estudios latinoamericanos, con enfoque en café, género y valor.

VERA ESPÍNDOLA RAFAEL colabora con productoras y productores de café en América Latina, aplicando análisis económico y estrategias de cadena de valor para incorporar sus voces en las decisiones de abastecimiento y ampliar su acceso a mercados estratégicos.

References

[1] Aunque en este artículo hablamos de “productores y productoras de café,” lo que abarca este término no cabe en una sola definición. Nos referimos a todas las personas que, desde distintos lugares y funciones, dan vida a la producción de café, asumiendo roles y responsabilidades que cambian con las estaciones y las necesidades, en un vaivén constante entre el trabajo remunerado y el no remunerado.

[2] The World Café. “Conceptos y referencias clave.” Disponible en: https://theworldcafe.com/key-concepts-resources/world-cafe-method/.

[3] Karma Chávez, “Traducción encarnada: discurso dominante y comunicación con migrantes como cuerpos-texto”, en Diálogos a través de las diásporas, editado por Marion Rohrleitner y Sarah Ryan (Lexington Books, 2013).

[4] Pierre Bourdieu. “Habitus y práctica social.” En Esbozo de una teoría de la práctica. Traducido por Richard Nice. Cambridge University Press, 1977.

[5] Raymond Williams, Marxismo y literatura (Oxford University Press, 1977).

[6] Olumide Popoola, “En lenguas: el conflicto dentro del lenguaje”, en Diálogos a través de las diásporas.

[7] Pierre Bourdieu, “Las formas del capital”, en Manual de teoría e investigación para la sociología de la educación, editado por John G. Richardson (Greenwood Press, 1986).

[8] Kerry Doyle y Gabriela Durán Barraza, “Luchando, rimando, sacando, pintando: colectivos de jóvenes artistas mujeres en Ciudad Juárez”, en Diálogos a través de las diásporas.

[9] Miranda Fricker, Injusticia epistémica: el poder y la ética de conocer (Oxford University Press, 2007)

We hope you are as excited as we are about the release of 25, Issue 24. This issue of 25 is made possible with the contributions of specialty coffee businesses who support the activities of the Specialty Coffee Association through its underwriting and sponsorship programs. Learn more about our underwriters here.

Today during the first round of the 2025 World Barista Championship at HostMilano, Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) CEO Yannis Apostolopoulos and Colombian Coffee Growers Federation/Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia (FNC) CEO Germán Alberto Bahamón Jaramillo took to the competition stage to jointly confirm and announce World of Coffee Bogotá 2027 featuring the 2027 World Brewers Cup, set to take place over three days from September 30 – October 2, 2027 in Bogotá, Colombia.

This significant event will mark a new era in the SCA and FNC partnership as the two organizations will work in tandem to bring global specialty coffee professionals and world competitors to a vibrant South American city in one of the world’s top coffee-producing countries. This event will be the second World of Coffee event taking place in a Latin American producing country following the much-anticipated World of Coffee Panama 2026 featuring the 2026 World Barista Championship set to take place next year. The presence of the 2027 World Brewers Cup will also mark the celebrated return of a significant World Coffee Championships competition to Bogotá, with the 2011 World Barista Championship having taken place sixteen years previously.

Historically, the SCA and FNC have collaborated on numerous projects, having most recently signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) focusing on the implementation of the SCA’s Coffee Value Assessment methodology within the FNC’s processes.

World of Coffee Bogotá 2027 will be open to exhibitors, sponsors, and attendees from across the specialty coffee value chain and all attendees will have the opportunity to watch World Brewers Cup performances and announcements at the World Coffee Championships stage at the show. More details on attending, exhibiting, and speaking, and program participation will be shared in the coming months.

For the latest updates about World of Coffee and the World Brewers Cup, head to worldofcoffee.org, wcc.coffee, and sca.coffee. Be sure to follow @specialtycoffeeassociation and @worldcoffeechampionships for the latest updates.

TO OUR MEMBERS, VOLUNTEERS, PARTNERS, AND THE GLOBAL COFFEE COMMUNITY:  

As we reflect on 2024, it is impossible to ignore the extraordinary pressures continuing to shape the coffee industry today. Around the world, coffee prices and logistics have continued to experience significant volatility, driven by climate disruptions, shifting global demand, and economic and sociopolitical uncertainty. Despite a growing, global demand for exceptional coffee, many businesses—of all shapes and sizes—faced tighter margins.  

Amid this rapidly changing landscape, our role as a convenor and connector has never felt more clear. By offering globally relevant tools and standards, creating spaces to surface and consider challenging problems, and celebrating the people who make coffee better, we will continue to leverage our unique position in coffee’s complex value system to help the industry navigate what lies ahead. 

In 2024, we focused on doing a few important things well and transparently. We adopted and published new standards within the Coffee Value Assessment, formally retiring the 2004 cupping form and placing shared, evolved quality language at the center of our education and research. We welcomed a broader, more diverse community through a new free associate membership, lowering barriers to participation while preserving meaningful ways to contribute and lead. And we kept our promise to bring major events to new regions by delivering World of Coffee in Asia and strengthening the platforms where our industry connects, learns, and does business. 

We also worked to pair program growth with financial responsibility, investing in the most valuable aspects of the work we do on behalf of our industry: conducting research, developing standards, creating education for coffee professionals, and producing events. We did all of this while maintaining financial discipline, continuing to build the reserves that ensure we can keep serving the specialty coffee industry in uncertain times. That balance matters: our work spans multiple time horizons. Producers still face disproportionate risk and rising costs. Many businesses face turbulent seasons. The path to a more equitable value distribution requires persistence, partnership, and data we can trust. 

Throughout 2024, our community continued demonstrate the qualities for which they have long been known: care, ingenuity, and a willingness to share knowledge. That these qualities persist in our community, despite all the uncertainty we have faced over the past few years, never ceases to fill me with gratitude. Thank you to the producers who continue to invest in quality under pressure. Thank you to the baristas, roasters, and retailers who serve their communities with craft and hospitality. To our volunteers—chapter leaders, judges, committee members, and instructors—thank you for sharing your time and expertise. To our staff, whose professionalism and heart make our ambitious work possible, thank you.

You are the SCA. 

With appreciation, 

Yannis Apostolopoulos

Chief Executive Officer

Specialty Coffee Association

Today, Q Grader courses launch as part of the updated program with the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) for the first time. The globally respected license for coffee professionals to evaluate and communicate coffee quality has been updated to align with the latest in coffee science. Many courses are now available, with more locations, languages, and dates to be added continuously over the coming months. 

Recognized worldwide as the leading specialty coffee license, the Q Grader Program tests professionals' ability to evaluate coffee using physical, descriptive, affective, and extrinsic assessments. Graduates earn the Q Grader license, a mark of excellence trusted across the global coffee value chain—from producers and exporters to roasters, importers, and traders. It was announced in April at Specialty Coffee Expo in Houston that, as part of a new partnership, the SCA would evolve the content of the Q Grader Program and transition its management from the Coffee Quality Institute (CQI).

The updated curriculum, now grounded in the Coffee Value Assessment (CVA), reflects the latest advancements in sensory science. By aligning professional coffee evaluation with the CVA, the modern Q Grader Program establishes a shared global framework for understanding coffee’s value, supporting a more transparent, consistent, and connected coffee sector.  

“The Q Grader Program has long served coffee professionals around the world,” said Yannis Apostolopoulos, CEO of the Specialty Coffee Association. “With the addition of the Coffee Value Assessment, our goal is to provide resources that reflect the needs of today’s coffee community and help us work collectively to make coffee better.” 

Courses are taught by an international network of licensed instructors who guide participants through intensive sensory training and examination, ensuring a rigorous and globally consistent standard. The updated Q Grader Program launches in tandem with our new education pricing model—a new country-specific approach that ensures affordability across diverse markets, making it easier for professionals everywhere to pursue one of the industry’s most respected credentials. 

The launch of the updated Q Grader Program marks a new era for specialty coffee education—one that brings together scientific innovation, professional rigor, and a global community of practitioners dedicated to making coffee better. 

Today during SCAJ2025 World Specialty Coffee Conference, the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA), Exporum Inc., and the Specialty Coffee Association of Japan (SCAJ) formally agreed and announced that Tokyo, Japan will host World of Coffee Asia and the World Barista Championship in 2027. The signing ceremony featured SCA CEO Yannis Apostolopoulos, Exporum Inc. CEO Danny Shin, and SCAJ President, Yoshi Kato and will mark the fourth edition of World of Coffee Asia following successful events held in Busan and Jakarta. World of Coffee Tokyo 2027 will take place April 28 – May 1, 2027 at Tokyo Big Sight (3-11-1, Ariake, Koto-ku, Tokyo) and will feature the 27th annual World Barista Championship (WBC).

The 2027 WBC will return to Tokyo, Japan, as part of World of Coffee Tokyo, marking two-decades years since the competition was last held there. In 2007, James Hoffmann of the United Kingdom claimed the World Barista Champion title with single-estate coffees from Costa Rica and Kenya, a performance that helped popularize value-chain storytelling and launched him as one of specialty coffee’s most influential voices. Since then, Tokyo has become a global leader in coffee culture, with its cafés and roasters renowned for innovation, precision, and design, while Japan remains one of the world’s largest coffee-consuming markets. As the championship returns in 2027, the international coffee community will once again look to Tokyo to set the stage for the next wave of ideas and flavors shaping the future of specialty coffee.

World of Coffee Tokyo 2027 will be open to exhibitors, sponsors, and attendees from across the specialty coffee value chain and all attendees will have the opportunity to watch World Barista Championship performances and announcements at the World Coffee Championships stage at the show. More details on attending, exhibiting, speaking, and program participation will be shared in the coming months.

For the latest updates about World of Coffee in Asia, head to asia.worldofcoffee.org and follow @worldofcoffeeasia on Instagram. For the latest updates on the World Coffee Championships and World Barista Championship, head to wcc.coffee and follow @worldcoffeechampionships on Instagram.

We’re excited to announce the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with The Specialty Coffee Association of Japan (SCAJ). The agreement was signed today at the SCAJ Conference in Tokyo Big Sight, marking a milestone in global collaboration for specialty coffee education. 

The agreement establishes a shared commitment to promote education and professional development around the Coffee Value Assessment (CVA) in Japan, supporting a stronger, more transparent, and globally connected specialty coffee sector. This is aligned with previous partnerships with Specialty Coffee Association of Indonesia, Brazil Specialty Coffee Association, and the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation.

Through this partnership, SCAJ will expand access to CVA and Q Program education for Japanese coffee professionals while aligning national practices with international standards. The collaboration will focus on building a base of instructors for CVA programs, improving accessibility and comprehension for Japanese stakeholders, and jointly promoting training opportunities for coffee professionals across the value chain. 

“It is my great pleasure that, within the long-standing friendship between SCA and SCAJ, we are able to conclude this MOU today. Through the cooperation of our two associations, we aim to deepen the understanding of specialty coffee, raise awareness of its value and further promote its development. We sincerely hope this agreement will enrich the global coffee community and strengthen our shared journey together,” said Yoshihito Kato, President of the Specialty Coffee Association of Japan. 

The Coffee Value Assessment, developed by the SCA, is a comprehensive tool designed to evaluate coffee quality across four dimensions: physical, descriptive, affective, and extrinsic. Already embraced in leading producing countries, the CVA provides a shared language for producers, buyers, and educators to communicate quality and value in new ways. 

“Our collaboration with SCAJ reflects a shared vision for the future of specialty coffee,” said Yannis Apostolopoulos, CEO of the Specialty Coffee Association. “By expanding education and professional opportunities, we are investing in the people who shape coffee’s future and helping to make coffee better, together.” 
The agreement underscores a mutual commitment to advancing specialty coffee through education, innovation, and collaboration, ensuring that Japan’s coffee professionals continue to lead in quality and expertise while contributing to the global coffee community. 

Sponsored Content by STORM Barista Attitude

The partnership between the STORM Barista Attitude and World Barista Championship has been four years passion. These years have been full of challenges faced with heart. Four years of emotions shared along a path that transformed every encounter into an opportunity for growth. But above all, they were four years of mutual growth, where technical expertise intertwined with human value, and precision mechanics met the pure creativity of the world's most talented baristas.

This partnership has opened the doors to a vibrant, international, ever-evolving world: a true global community made of talent, determination, and the desire to push boundaries. A cultural and professional ecosystem that could be described as a true coffee agora, where every competition, every workshop, and every exchange of ideas becomes a moment of discussion, listening, and inspiration. Because before being a contest, the World Barista Championship is a gym of ideas, a laboratory of possibilities, a celebration of coffee culture in all its forms.

This continuous and authentic dialogue—forged from genuine relationships and shared choices—is the driving force behind STORM Barista Attitude. This force is present in every moment, from the intense, precise calibration during pre-practice, to the peak adrenaline and concentration backstage, and finally, to the competition performance on center stage, where everything is decided.

In every one of these moments, STORM chose to truly be there. Not just as a machine supplier, but as an active partner, an integral part of the baristas’ journey. A presence built on listening, care, attention to detail, shared suggestions, and technical improvements born in the field, side by side with those who live the machine every day as an extension of their hands.

This constant presence has become one of the pillars of STORM’s philosophy: not just supporting, but accompanying. Standing alongside baristas on their path, helping them prepare, finding together the harmony between human gesture and technical response. Watching them grow, turning talent into confidence, entering the competition with awareness and determination—all of this has been a privilege.

Because baristas know that they can rely on a tool designed to meet their highest standards—a  stable, precise, smooth system—our technology has transformed into something more: a silent yet essential ally. Because it is in the details that the difference is made. And in mutual trust that success is built.

Contributing to their dreams, through a machine that allows every nuance of extraction, that adapts to the barista’s style without ever imposing itself, is something that goes far beyond technical pride or results alone. It is what gives meaning to every design choice, every lab test, every hour spent perfecting even the last parameter. It is our vision to put talent in the best conditions to shine; to create the ideal environment for every gesture to become excellence.

Along this journey, one model has embodied the brand’s soul above all others: Tempesta. A machine that is not just technology, but a concrete expression of the STORM Barista Attitude philosophy. A perfect blend of form and function, of expressive freedom and engineering reliability.

Tempesta is creativity, connection, performance. But it is much more than that. It is a statement of intent. An object that speaks the language of professionals and elevates it. With its elegant and futuristic design, it breaks aesthetic conventions and redefines the concept of a workspace. Its intuitive touchscreen interface offers full control over extraction, streamlines workflow, and allows real-time data sharing. In this way, the relationship between barista and customer transforms: no longer unidirectional, but participatory, immersive, shared.

Tempesta is, ultimately, a space. A physical and emotional place where technique and art meet, where functionality becomes experience and routine turns into daily inspiration. It is a creative platform for those who want to express themselves through every extraction, every cup, every interaction with the audience. It is a manifesto of coffee as a universal language, capable of uniting people, cultures, and worldviews.

And it is precisely here that STORM finds its deepest identity. It is not just a brand; it is a way of being. A personal and authentic attitude that reflects the strength of innovation, relationships, and coffee culture. It is the ability to understand the needs of professionals, to embrace their challenges, to evolve alongside them.

STORM is, above all, the will to create real connections, to believe in talent, to listen, and to continuously improve. It is a spirit, an energy that flows through every component of the machine and every phase of its design. It is what guides us, and what will continue to guide us into the future.

About STORM Barista Attitude

Barista Attitude is research on values ​​that have been lost over time, but re-emerged thanks to a new cultural and artisanal approach, which spread rapidly in the world. The coffee dispensed is at the center of every care. Baristas’ gestures are the protagonists on stage and have a highly symbolic value. The relationship between those who operate the machine and who savor coffee is revolutionized: the barista who has chosen coffee beans, roasting and brewing with an almost maniacal dedication can offer ritual preparation and storytelling.

Follow along on Instagram.

In case you missed it, we are excited to be bringing the Experience Lounge to this year’s SCAJ Conference in Tokyo. This new initiative is designed to bring the Coffee Value Assessment (CVA) to life for both professionals and consumers, creating a space for learning, connection, and engagement. 

Following the success of the inagural SCA Experience Lounge at Thailand Coffee Festival in June, visitors will be able to experience the same interactive excitement to Tokyo. The event runs from Wednesday September 24 to Saturday September 27, 2025 at Tokyo Big Sight. You’ll find the SCA Experience Lounge in South Halls 3&4 from 10 am - 5 pm the first three days, and 10 am - 4 pm on the final day.

Highlights of the Experience Lounge 

• Interactive CVA Activation:

  • Attendees will explore coffee aromas and flavors through guided and self-directed activities led by trained volunteers, ASTs, and CVA trainers. Large-scale CVA forms and simple, color-coded sticker assessments will make the experience accessible and memorable. 

• Guest Baristas & Brewers:

  • Internationally recognized baristas will lead sessions that integrate CVA principles into their presentations, offering visitors a unique perspective on coffee quality evaluation. 

• Cup of Excellence at the Bar:

  • Each day will feature award-winning coffees from Cup of Excellence (COE), presented through the CVA framework by Cup of Excellence and Alliance for Coffee Excellence staff and partners. 

• Flavor Wheel Photo Station 

  • A dedicated backdrop featuring the SCA Coffee Taster's Flavor Wheel and “Make Coffee Better” message will offer an interactive and shareable experience. 

Daily Schedule for the Baristas & Brewers Bar

Supported by Industry Partners 

The SCA Experience Lounge is proudly supported by EPEIOS, Hario, Kinu Grinders, Kranti Coffee, and Squeaky. 

For more information, please visit the SCAJ 2025 Conference website.